Bittersweet Memories
by OnceUponALullaby
Summary: After being stabbed in the back by their boyfriends, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata ran from Konoha. Now they return after 5 long years with kids in tow! What have they been doing all these years? "Jeez teme, what crawled up your ass and died?"
1. Bittersweet Memories

**I wrote this in like, 30 minutes. This is my first FanFiction story so…**

**No flames please.**

**Constructive criticism is good!**

**Feel free to review!**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 1: Bittersweet Memories

Pain.

Betrayal.

Love.

Hurt.

Thoughts flitting mindlessly through her head as she walked to the gate, ignoring the dull feeling of pain in her chest. Memories resurfaced, bringing more pain.

"_**Mou, Sasuke-kun, are you ok? Sasuke-kun?"**_

"_**Shut up idiot. Stop being a liability to the team and pay attention to the fight."**_

The first time they fought on a mission together…

"_**Ne, Sakura, would you go out with me?" he gasped out, fighting the pain in his chest.**_

_**She cradled his head in her lap, chuckling sadly. "You always pick the worst times Sasuke-kun… Wouldn't you like me to heal you first?"**_

The time he asked her out…

"_**Sakura, I love you," he murmured, holding onto her tightly.**_

"_**I love you too Sasuke-kun!" she murmured, before falling asleep on his chest.**_

The first time he said 'I love you….'

"_**Congratulations Ma'm, you're pregnant!"**_

When she first found out she was pregnant…

And now, the memories blurring together as she walked through the gates of Konoha, her home.

"A-ano, Sakura-chan, what are _you_ doing here?"

She gazed up with dull eyes to see Hyuuga Hinata looking at her. "Ne, Hina-chan, probably the same thing you're doing here," she murmured. "I was strung along by my bastard of a boyfriend…"

"Sakura-chan, Hina-chan, you too huh." She turned to look at the pain-filled eyes of Ino Yamanaka.

"What happened to you Sakura?" Tenten slowly walked out from behind a tree.

She closed her eyes, remembering that one event that changed her life.

"_**SHANNARO! NARUTO YOU BAKA!" I swiftly punched Naruto into a tree. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THAT!" After that, I decided to see Sasuke-kun. "Mou, Sasuke-kun, would you like me to make you some-" I stopped. There, at Team 7's training grounds, Sasuke was kissing another girl. "tea…" I finished in a broken whisper.**_

_**His hands were on her shoulders, as her arms were around his waist. Vaguely, I noticed her hair was a normal brown color, her forehead a normal size. "Sa-Sasuke-kun…" I couldn't take it anymore. Running back to my home in panic, I packed a bag and wrote a note to my Shishou before waiting for dark, preparing to leave Konoha.**_

"I'm leaving… if he has no problem cheating on me, I don't want him to be there with my baby." She heard her friends gasp.

"How far along are you? I'm about one week…" Ino whispered.

"Three weeks… What's your story." Sakura replied.

Ino frowned, and began narrating.

"_**Shika-kuuun!!" I trilled, walking to his favorite cloud gazing hill. "I made you some lunch!" I stopped. There was a girl there with him.**_

"_**Shika-kun, you're so CUTE!" she shrieked, clutching his arm, lying next to him. A girl, lying next to my boyfriend. Her bright violet eyes twinkling, as she waved her STUPID, LONG, BIMBO HAIR around. And Shikamaru wasn't exactly doing anything to stop her.**_

'_**He probably thinks it's to TROUBLESOME to break up with his REAL girlfriend…' I thought. Dumping his lunch on the ground, I stomped towards my house. I wrote a note to my sensei so he wouldn't get worried, packed, and left for the gates. That BASTARD will never see his child now. Cuz I'm NEVER gonna come back.**_

"All you need to know about me is that I caught Neji cheating on me _right before_ I was gonna tell him I was pregnant." Tenten ground out harshly, her throat tightening.

"M-me too… It's too painful to describe." Hinata stuttered.

"NANI? Hinata, you too? I thought you were the sensible one! I mean, I can understand _Ino-pig, _but how can you be pregnant too?" Sakura gasped, surprised.

"H-He said he _l-loved_ me! He said that I was his _l-life!_ And I fell for his stupid TRICKS!" Hinata wailed, tears coursing down her cheeks. "And n-now, I'm one week pregnant, thanks to that, that j-jerk N-naruto! I DON'T WANT TO BE PREGNANT AT SIXTEEN! I DON'T WANT TO BE THAT GIRL WHO RUINS HER LIFE!" she howled, panic taking over.

Her friends stood, shocked, that Hinata was so sad over this she would throw a fit.

"Ne, Hina-chan, that's why you have friends." Ino said sadly, hugging the distraught girl. Sobbing silently, the four girls hugged each other and turned their backs on their homes.

* * *

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE! WHERE THE HELL IS MY GIRLFRIEND!" Naruto screamed at Tsunade the next day. "WHY THE _HELL_ DID YOU CALL US-" here he waved a hand towards Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji, "AT SIX IN THE MORNING, TELLING US OUR GIRLFRIENDS _MAGICALLY_ DISAPPEARED!" His eyes slowly started to bleed into red as the Kyuubi took over. "We need to go OUT THERE! We need to go LOOK FOR THEM! _HOW CAN WE JUST SIT HERE WHEN THEY MIGHT BE IN TROUBLE?"_

"Can you just SHUT THE HELL UP FOR A MINUTE SO I CAN EXPLAIN? BECAUSE SAKURA-CHAN AND THE OTHERS LEFT _NOTES!_ I WAS GOING TO SHOW YOU THEM, BUT MAYBE I WON'T NOW!" She was screaming in rage at the Kyuubi container, upset by the fact her apprentice had disappeared. "IN FACT, IT SEEMS TO BE _YOUR FAULT! SO DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULL SHIT NARUTO!_ DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GIRLFRIEND WROTE IN HER LETTER? IT MENTIONED KIBA AND SHINO AND KURENAI, BUT SOMEHOW SKIRTED AROUND YOU! AND _YOU!_" She pointed at Neji. "_YOUR_ GIRLFRIEND WROTE 'TELL THE NEJI-BASTARD I HATE HIM!' AND GUESS WHAT UCHIHA! SAKURA'S LETTER SAID ALL THIS CRAP ABOUT HOW SHE LOVES THIS VILLAGE AND WON'T BETRAY IT, AND YOU KNOW WHAT SHE PUT AT THE BOTTOM? **'TELL SASUKE I HOPE HE'S HAPPY WITH HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND.'**" She whirled, turning around to look at him. "YOU'RE THE REASON MY SAKURA-CHAN LEFT KONOHA!" She howled, screaming with rage, ready to tear Sasuke apart. "Ino didn't even LEAVE a letter! YOU FOUR ARE THE REASONS THE TOP FOUR KUNOICHI OF KONOHA HAVE DESERTED THE VILLAGE!" She stopped, panting.

All four guys looked stunned at the information.

Sasuke opened and closed his mouth, as if trying to find a word to describe the situation. "Oh shit," he said weakly.

Massive understatement.

* * *

**XxX**

**Wow, this thing is like, 3 pages in MSW, and it looks so short when I downloaded it! I feel cheated somehow…**


	2. So, We Meet Again

**Augh, I feel cheated yet again.**

**Thanks to sweetdreamkisses30 for reviewing the last chapter.**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 2: So, We Meet Again

-5 Years Later-

"Ne, kaa-san, I wanna be just like you when I grow up!" Sachiko exclaimed to Sakura. "Then I could heal everyone just like you!"

"Well, then, Sachi-chan, I guess I should teach you then!" Sakura said with a little laugh. "You should meet my shishou in Konoha! She's even better than me!"

Ino huffed. "Ne, forehead, I can heal people too ya know! I'll teach Hana-chan to heal people! Then she can be better than Sachi-chan!

Hanako thrust out her chest proudly. "Ne, Sachi-chan, I will _definitely _be better than you! My kaa-san's the best!"

"No, MY kaa-san is!" The girls got into a fight _again._

"Tch, girls." Katsuro huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Katsuro-kun…" Tenten reprimanded.

He rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok, kaa-san."

'_He looks so much like his father…' _Tenten thought.

Stretching, Ino said, "Ok, kids, we're gonna go to bed now 'k? Don't get into fights, behave, no hurting each other while training…" Ino went over the usual rules.

"Hai, kaa-san!" Hanako saluted.

"Bye Hiro-kun!" Hinata smiled.

"You too Hana-chan!" Ino chimed in.

"Bye Akira, Katsuro! Stay safe!" Tenten said in a sing-song-ey voice.

Finally, Sakura said, "Ok, Sachi-chan, Daisuke-kun, you stay safe now!" She turned to their older brother. "Ichiro-kun, you're the oldest in the group, so keep 'em safe ok? Have fun now! Remember, we're near Konoha, and we don't know how nice they'll be to us, so don't let any shinobi see you 'k?"

"M'k," they all murmured.

* * *

"Ok, you guys are my best ANBU, and Naruto, you're the 6th Hokage, so you go on night patrol. Report any suspicious behavior 'k?" Tsunade said cheerfully.

"Baa-chan! You're not even Hokage anymore!" Naruto groaned.

"Just GET TO IT NARUTO!" Tsunade screamed.

"Ok…" Naruto replied.

As soon as he was out of earshot, he whispered, "Damn, she's so scary…"

"NARUTO! I CAN HEAR YOU!"

* * *

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Hiro let out a roar, creating ten shadow clones.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Ichiro and Daisuke cried out in unison, each effectively killing off all the shadow clones.

"Byakuugan!" Katsuro cried, the same time Sachiko activated the sharingan. They each stared at Akira, who was throwing weapons at them like there was no tomorrow.

Expertly, they dodged each attack.

"Shintenshin no jutsu!" Hanako whispered, hidden in the shadows. Right on target, her attack hit Hiro's body, switching their minds. "Hoo boy, I think that's enough training for the day," Hanako said in Hiro's body. "Release!"

* * *

"Hey, guys, there's seven people up ahead." Neji frowned. "I think there's something familiar about their chakra…"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. "Let's check it out."

"Ne, Sasuke-teme, is that even a word? It's all you say, 'Hn' this and 'Hn' that. Jeez, you could be Neji's twin!"

Neji and Sasuke glared at him, refusing they were in any way alike.

Suddenly, they arrived at their destination, safely hidden in a tree. But the sight they saw surprised them.

"Mou, Hana-chan, you did pretty good there! Got the baka straight in between the eyes!" a pretty little girl commented to the brown haired, blue eyed girl next to her.

"You did pretty well too Sachi-chan! I'm proud to call you my rival!" the brown-haired girl replied.

But it wasn't the blond that caught their attention. It was the other girl, 'Sachi.' But it wasn't because of her pale skin, or her onyx eyes, but her hair. It was

"Pink." Sasuke breathed.

Naruto gasped. "Teme, that girl looks exactly like Sakura-chan!" And it was true. Her mid-back pink hair swayed in the breeze, as her onyx eyes sparkled. It was like a younger version of Sakura.

Silently, Sasuke pointed at three of the other children.

"Hn. Foolish otouto, if you wish to get better than me you must train harder," a boy with long, black hair tied in a low ponytail said. His onyx eyes glinted dangerously as he continued. "Our sister here-" the boy pointed at the Sakura-clone, "almost did better than you at training!"

"Ne, aniki, I did my best… Maybe if you helped me train I would be better!" the boy's emerald eyes shined with hope.

Flick.

After flicking his younger brother's forehead, he patted his otouto's shorter black hair.

"Maybe next time otouto."

"Ha-ha Daisuke-teme!" a little blond haired boy with pale lavender eyes laughed at Daisuke. "You just got owned by Ichiro!"

"Shut up Hiro-dobe." Daisuke's face flushed in embarrassment.

"Hiro, stop picking on my aniki!" the Sakura-clone; _Sachi_, Sasuke remembered, said. She contemptuously walked up to the blond kid and punched him into a tree.

Neji raised an eyebrow at this. _'Jeez, they act just like Sasuke and Naruto!'_

Neji pointed out the last two kids to Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto. They were conversing away from the group, leaning against a tree.

"Ne, Katsuro-kun, you got better! You didn't even get hit once!" a young girl with bright white eyes and brown hair exclaimed.

"Are you sure you just didn't get worse?" Katsuro teased, smirking. His long, chocolate-brown hair framed his dark grey eyes.

'_No one could mistake them for anything but brother and sister…'_ Shikamaru thought. "Hey guys, stop spying. We need to go ask those kids what they're doing here."

The others gave their silent consent, leaping down from the tree.

* * *

The kids saw four shinobi leap down from a tree.

'_Shoot!'_ Ichiro thought, _'I didn't even notice them!'_

The kids immediately got into a fighting formation. Ichiro was in the front, sharingan activated, three tomoe spinning wildly. Behind him was Katsuro, who had his Byakuugan on, and Daisuke, who had his second-stage sharingan on. After them, Hiro was flanked by Akira on his right side and Hanako on his left. Akira had a scroll of her weapons at the ready, while Hanako and Sachiko, who was on Hanako's left, got their medical skills ready. Sachiko also had her two tomoe sharingan activated. But instead of fighting, the four shinobi in front of them had an almost comical response.

"WHAT THE HELL TEME!" Naruto shouted. "THREE OF THOSE KIDS HAVE THE SHARINGAN!"

He promptly fell over backwards.

Hiro gave a confused start. "Wow, they call you idiots Konoha shinobi? We didn't even have to touch this guy and he's still unconscious!" He created a shadow clone, which picked up a stick and started poking Naruto. Seeing the Konoha shinobi meant no harm, all the kids put their weapons down and walked over to 'interrogate' the shinobi.

* * *

Daisuke, Ichiro, and Sachi walked up to Sasuke. "Hey, you freak! You have the same hair as me!" Daisuke stated incredulously. "What the heck?"

"I would say kid; YOU have the same hair as ME." Sasuke hid his shock behind those words.

Ichiro stood in front of Sachi in a protective stance. "Don't talk to him Daisuke! He's the enemy!"

"Aw, lay off aniki. If he acts like his teammate over there-" Daisuke pointed to Naruto. "we should have no problem defeating him."

Ichiro just flicked his otouto again and glared at Sasuke.

* * *

Hiro glanced at Naruto. "What the hell? This idiot stole my hairstyle!"

* * *

Hana glared at Shikamaru, hands on her hips.

"How troublesome…" he muttered.

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID BASTARD." Hana kicked him and sat down in a huff.

* * *

Akira and Katsuro slowly circled Neji. "Hey, he looks like you!" Akira commented, pointed at Katsuro.

"No I/he don't/doesn't!" they denied together.

"Shut up kid/idiot!"

"Stop copying me!"

They glared at each other and crossed their arms in the same arrogant manner.

"Tch, boys."

* * *

Since all four shinobi were still rather shocked by the children, the children marked down their rank from fearsome shinobi to complete wuss. Each child shared a glance, and silently agreed to take these strange men to their kaa-sans to figure out what to do. Being rather duped by the fact these were _five-year-old children_, the four ANBU didn't expect to be attacked.

Since Naruto was already out cold, Ichiro fixed Sasuke with his sharingan and knocked him out. Katsuro, with the help of Hiro, used Byakuugan and hit a bunch of Neji's pressure points. (More than necessary, actually) Then Hanako had no problem using her shadow possession Jutsu to get Shikamaru.

After having water dumped unceremoniously onto their heads, the four shinobi woke up to see they were in front of the mouth of a cave.

"Hey. You. Yes, I'm talking to you, you dobe." Daisuke rudely stated to Naruto. "We're gonna introduce you to our kaa-sans, 'k? Don't even try escaping, Hana-chan's got it covered." The Konoha nin saw the little brown haired girl using Kage Mane on them.

"Damn, we got beaten by a bunch of five year olds! What kind of kids are they?" Sasuke whisper-swore to Neji.

"I must be losing my touch..." Neji replied.

"What touch? And shut up chicken head." Daisuke told Sasuke, conveniently overlooking the fact he had the exact same hairstyle. "Meet my kaa-san."

* * *

-Sakura's POV-

Yawning, I looked up to see Sachi gently shaking my shoulder.

"Kaa-san, these strange men came and they _say_ they're Konoha shinobi but one man acts like an idiot so I wonder if he's bluffing or something so we knocked them out and brought them here and-" I put a hand on my daughter's shoulder, stopping her in her rant. I slipped out of bed, groaning.

"Let's go see these mystery guests, then. Hina-chan, Ten-chan, Pig-chan, wake up. We have some visitors."

* * *

**XxX**

**So R&R, yeah.**

**Peace out- Ryuuzaki-chan008**


	3. Seven Hells

**Wow, these chapters seem super long in MSW.**

**I guess they aren't in reality.**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 3: Seven Hells

-Sasuke's POV-

"Meet my kaa-san."

Ugh. Why is that brat talking to me? Who does he think he is? I am the GREAT and POWERFUL UCHIHA SASUKE! This brat has no right to order me around! And I don't give a crap about who his mother is! Just as long as I get out of this stupid trap-

Four shadows were visible in the mouth of the cave. Shikamaru groaned. _'Must be the moms…'_

A sharp, soft gasp was heard, followed by a shriek, a roar, and a "NO HINATA! DON'T YOU DARE-"

Thump.

"faint."

Naruto opened his mouth then closed it. "Did someone say Hinata," he whispered hoarsely.

"KAA-SAN! KAA-SAN! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY KAA-SAN!" Hiro shouted, his eyes bleeding into a red color.

'This couldn't be… but it is. That's just like Naruto when _he_ gets mad. So that kid must be…' Shikamaru paled. "Demon spawn..." He whispered in a strangled voice, his eyes rolling backwards.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY KAA-SAN? SHE'S OUT COLD!"

Naruto snapped out of it momentarily enough to shout "WATCH YOUR MOUTH, I'M THE 6TH HOKAGE YOU BRAT!" to Hiro.

"Neji…" a soft voice could be heard from the cave. "Is it really you?"

Neji sweated a bit. "Hn," was his _extremely _intelligent reply. (Hey, he's in shock!)

"Yup!" the voice continued sweetly. "That certainly _is_ Neji! How's it going you _slimy, IGNORANT, __**TWO-FACED BASTARD!**_" Tenten walked out of the cave, her eyes steely and glazed with pain. She took out a kunai. "I should kill you now…" she whispered to Neji, holding the knife against his jugular vein. Neji shivered at that voice. It was the voice she used during assassin missions during their time together as ANBU. The time before she disappeared. "But I won't do that to you, oh, no I won't," she continued. "I'll just settle for torturing you until you die, then draw and quarter you, then leave you for the crows!" a note of hysteria entered her voice.

"Tenten…" Neji spoke softly, reaching out to touch her cheek.

She struck him.

"DON'T TALK TO ME!" she screamed, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "YOU BASTARD, YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF. YOU CHEATED ON ME, AND ABANDONED ME, ABANDONED YOUR CHILDREN! See what good it did you," she finished bitterly.

Neji was stunned. Those… children, Akira and Katsuro, was it? His? "My children?" he spoke softly.

Silence.

"Kaa-san, that BASTARD is my dad?" Katsuro and Akira glared at Neji with undisguised look of hatred that sharply reminded him of Tenten. "He's no dad to me," Katsuro spat out bitterly. They followed their mom into the cave, never looking back.

* * *

-Neji's POV-

I didn't know what to do. I had a kid. Hell, I had TWO kids! And they both hated me. Some dad I am. I looked at Naruto, saw him stare back at me with a look that said 'sorry, man.' Suddenly, I knew why they ran away. I knew why Tenten ran away. It was all my fault.

"I remember." I whispered brokenly to Naruto. "I remember why she ran away. She saw me… She saw me when I was dancing at the Hyuuga ball. When I was dancing with that girl, and she kissed me. She was my date…"

I slumped against Sasuke's back, picturing Tenten as the girl I took for granted back then I was seventeen, and the Tenten now, the beautiful, strong, Tenten. Her style hadn't change at all… I could practically see her in front of me, with her hair still in her trademark twin buns, her sleeveless olive tank, and her camo pants. I compared her, a strong mother of two, to me, the stupid, ignorant, ex-boyfriend. I didn't deserve to live…

* * *

-Sasuke's POV-

Another shadow appeared in the cave entrance.

"Tenten, I-" I heard Neji stop talking and slump forward again. It wasn't Tenten.

It was Sakura. MY Sakura. But she was no longer the sweet, gentle, girl she used to be. She was a woman now. My breathe hitched lightly as I looked at her. She stood there, glaring at me, long pink hair swaying in the wind. She was wearing a black tube top and a black mini with short shorts underneath. Her top had fishnet sleeves and she was wearing fishnet stockings. She had a black headband on her head.

"Sasuke-kun…" I saw her mouth the words. Then, she stiffened. "Sasuke-kun, meet your _children_." Her voice was emotionless, throwing out the suffix in my name with contempt. I looked over to her children. _My _children. The little one, Sachi, came over and looked at me through red-rimmed eyes of onyx. She came over and kicked me, and I could feel the bone in my leg crack painfully. Just like her mom... Sakura was smiling proudly through the pain. She must have rehearsed this with Sachi.

"I can't believe you're my father. When I imagined my father, I saw a nice man who made me, aniki, Daisuke, and my mommy smile, one who wasn't an emotionless ASSHOLE like you. I guess I was wrong," her tiny voice shook from each gasp she made, on the brink of crying. She walked over to her aniki, Daisuke, who hugged her and glared at me.

"I have the same _hair_ as you…" his voice hardened.

His older brother just walked away from me, comforting his sister.

I was no better than Itachi now.

* * *

-Shikamaru's POV-

Ino didn't even come out to see me. I could see her eyes though, glimmering in the darkness of the cave. Once, as the rising sun shined though the trees a certain way, I saw her, holding onto Hanako's shoulders.

She was still into the whole purple thing. Her purple tank went just below her breasts, and fishnet covered her stomach. She was wearing black short shorts and black fishnets on her legs. I sigh.

Hana looked just like her mother. She looked just like _me_. These children… They aren't ordinary shinobi. They were scarily powerful for their age. Sakura and Sasuke's kids… I could just imagine. Kids running around with superhuman strength, extremely high chakra control, with huge egos, huge tempers, and an icy demeanor. Naruto and Hinata… I shiver. Demon kids who could use the byakuugan. Neji and Tenten would have kids who could use byakuugan and hit a target 99 percent of the time. Ino's children… I corrected myself. _Our_ children would have extremely high IQs, and be able to switch bodies and possess people's shadows. These kids… They would be an incredible asset to Konoha. They would be an incredible asset to _anyone._ This means… the Akatsuki.

Predictably, I groan.

_'How troublesome...'_

* * *

-Naruto's POV-

"Ne, Naruto-kun, Hina-chan would like to see you." Sakura came out, holding a crying Hinata in her arms. Hiro crowded around her, fussing and making a big deal out of it. I could see Sakura blatantly ignoring Sasuke. "Naruto-kun…" Sakura stood over me, smiling sadly. "You were my best friend, and I know you didn't mean any harm. Would you like to be friends again? This doesn't mean you're off the hook… I just want my friend back."

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Arigato…" She kissed my cheek, and went away. I could see Sasuke clenching his fist. I knew how much this hurt him.

Slap. It was Hinata-chan.

I held my cheek, stunned. After slapping me, Hinata started crying again and hugged me.

"Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry, I regret leaving Konoha so much, I know you didn't mean it, I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry." Hinata sobbed into my shoulder.

"It's ok Hinata-chan... I just hope you forgive me." I gave her a soft kiss, and we sat there for a moment, reveling in each other's presence. I hugged her after. I smiled. "You know, I became Hokage. I finally did it Hinata!" I saw her mouth twitch upwards. "Ne Hinata, can you get your friends to forgive the guys? They didn't do anything wrong… I'm just lucky to get a nice, beautiful girlfriend. I know Sakura and the others won't forgive them easily."

She nodded. "I-I know. After we left, they cried for weeks… I think it would really help them. Oh, a-ano, I forgot for a minute. Naruto, meet Hiro, your son."

I affectionately ruffled Hiro's look-alike hair, when his voice cut through the silence. "This stupid oaf is the 6th Hokage? I thought he was just some idiot! And now you're telling me he's my dad too? No way! I'm way cooler than him!"

I frowned at that. "Ne, Hinata-chan, we should teach our kid some manners."

She giggled. "I should go back now, and comfort them. We didn't expect to ever see you guys again…" Here she frowned. "Bye Naruto-kun. I'll see you later, ok? Tell Tsunade-sama, Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and Asuma-sensei we're ok, alright!"

I nodded, but then frowned. "Hinata-chan, I'm sorry, but Asuma-sensei died fighting Akatsuki a few weeks after you disappeared! Now it's just Kurenai and her kid…" I patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"Nani?" she shrieked. "Kurenai-sensei has a kid? With _Asuma-san?_" she regained her bearings and calmed down slightly. "I'll tell Ino-chan the bad news, ok? We'll come visit you in Konoha later. There's a talk with Tsunade, and you, since you're the Hokage, that's long overdue." She kissed me on the cheek before disappearing in a flurry of lavender petals.

I breathed in, smelling the scent of spring flowers and lavender. Hinata. She looked better than ever, wearing a lavender tunic and some shorts. But all I had to do was look at the haunted look in Neji's eyes, the regret in Shikamaru's, and the jealousy in Sasuke's as he realized his love preferred his best friend to him. As I looked at them, my happy moment burst like a bubble, and my blood ran cold.

* * *

**XxX**

**R&R!**

**If you review, you get a cyber cookie!**

**-Ryuuzaki-chan**


	4. Reunited Again

**Thanks for reviewing Hana Natsumi Hime, I wasn't sure if my writing was any good… I'm really glad you liked it… Thanks! Also, thank you BluePetalDemon, for reveiwing too! You guys just made my day!**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 4: Reunited Again

"Where's Hinata-chan?" Naruto said, his brow creased with worry. He'd been pacing around and around Tsunade's office for the last hour, waiting for Hinata. And frankly, Tsunade has had enough of it.

"STOP TALKING! GET THE HELL OUTTA MY OFFICE AND DON'T COME BACK TILL THEY GET HERE!"

Naruto huffed. "Ne, baa-chan, you're just grumpy cuz you have a he-uuuge hangover from the _three_ bottles of sake you had at the Sakura-and-friends-are-back party! Besides, this is MY office. Not yours! SO I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANNA! Besides, you still need to clear your sake storage outta here. You said you'd do that months ago!"

"Ah, whatever," she waved it away, sitting at _Naruto's _desk. "Damn brat," she muttered.

"Baa-chaaannn!!" he whined. "I wanna impress Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan when they come!"

"You can do that later," she grumbled. "The damn hangover's hurtin my head. So SHOW SOME RESPECT FOR YOUR ELDERS BRAT!" Thus, she promptly fell asleep on his desk.

Naruto exited the room, muttering something about 'stupid baa-chan,' and 'my desk,' and 'that hangover can go rot in hell.'

Naruto didn't even notice Neji, who was leaning against the wall near _Naruto's_ office.

'_Sasuke was right, that 'dobe' has issues.'_

Now outside the building, Naruto sneezed. _'Someone must be thinking about me and my awesomeness!'_ he thought proudly.

Looks like he'll never learn.

* * *

"So…" Ino began nervously.

Sakura sighed. "I don't know."

They had been walking around aimlessly outside of the Konoha gates with the kids, unsure of what to do.

"Kaa-saaannn!" Hiro whined, sounding _suspiciously_ like someone we know.

"Hiro-kun, we can't just waltz in there, even though the Hokage invited us, the villagers probably lost favor with us when we became missing-nin 5 years ago," Tenten kindly explained.

Katsuro rolled his eyes. "We are NINJA, are we not? Sneak into his office and surprise 'em!"

Ino, Hinata, Sakura, and Tenten looked at each other.

* * *

"That was surprisingly easy!" Sakura exclaimed from inside Naruto's office.

Snore.

"What the- TSUNADE-SHISHOU!" Sakura ran and hugged the sleeping woman.

"DAMMIT NARUTO, I TOLD YOU TO GET THE HELL OUTTA H- SAKURA-CHAN!!" she screamed, running forward to hug the younger woman. "HINATA-SAN! TENTEN-SAN! INO-SAN!" She did a look-at-me-I'm-drunk happy dance.

Sakura slapped her forehead. "Shishou! You should be quieter! Now Naruto-kun and the bastards-"

She was interrupted by the four struggling males trying to get through the doorway.

"OI, TEME, THIS IS MY OFFICE, SO I SUGGEST YOU GET THE HELL OUTTA MY DOORWAY AND-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP DOBE, THIS IS NO TIME FOR GAMES-"

"TENTEN, I CAN EXPLAIN-"

"INO!"

Needless to say, the girls were stunned. After all, it's not everyday you see Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru yell. Especially at _each other._

"A-ano-" Hinata began.

More screaming and fighting from the guys.

"Everyone, l-listen-"

"NARUTO YOU DOBE MOVE YOUR FAT ASS!"

"H-HEY," her face turned red…

"AT LEAST MY ASS DOESN'T HAVE A HUGE STICK SHOVED UP IT-"

"SHUT UP EVERYONE AND JUST GET INTO THE OFFICE!!" Hinata screamed.

Everyone was so surprised, they actually shut up.

"Ahhh," she fainted with surprise.

"HINATA-CHAANNN!" Naruto ran forward and caught her.

Sasuke shook his head. "The dobe will never learn."

Cries of 'SHANNARO!' and 'YOU'RE ONE TO TALK BASTARD!!' echoed about the room. Sakura and Tenten had launched themselves at Sasuke and Neji. Both listened to their 'female instincts' and repeatedly slapped Neji and Sasuke across the cheek.

Shikamaru sweatdropped. "Ne, Sakura-san, Tenten-san, you have ninja skills? You could easily cave his face in with a chakra punch or castrate him with your weapons or something…"

Sasuke and Neji glared at Shikamaru for giving them ideas.

"Hey, that could work!" Tenten announced, holding up a kunai. She advanced towards Neji with a menacing grin.

"Whoa, Tenten, I think you're getting carried away here-" Neji backed off towards Naruto, holding both hands up in a 'peace' gesture.

"CARRIED AWAY MY ASS!"

"ANBU! ANBU! CALL IN THE ANBU BLACK OPSSSS!!" Naruto wailed.

* * *

Finally, after an hour, Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and six ANBU managed to hold down Sakura and Tenten and then confiscate Tenten's millions of sharp, pointy objects that could be used to castrate Neji.

Naruto sighed to Hinata. "We need to come up with some sort of agreement that your friends won't harm my best ANBU."

And thus, after five hours, six screaming matches, two bitch-fights, attempted castration, nine murder threats, three semi-conscious Leaf ANBU, and one mildly scratched Hokage, an agreement was reached.

* * *

"Kabuto-kun, is this true? Seven young, powerful, shinobi kids are in Konoha?

"Hai."

* * *

**XxX**

**Cliffy!**

**Lol, I suck at these things.**

**Sorry this is so short, I had to write it in thirty minutes. I promise I'll update soon!**

**(Forks over a plate of cyber-cookies to the people that reveiwed)**


	5. Foolish Little Brother

**Lol, I'm writing this while attempting to stick fifty new songs into my iTunes library, so I have to rename them, and stick 'em into play lists, and all that crap. XP. They should make these songs name themselves.**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 5: Foolish Little Brother

Hiro danced around Naruto's office, singing about how cool it was to have the 6th Hokage as his dad, and how even Daisuke, his long time rival and best friend, couldn't own up to something as cool as that.

Daisuke was glaring at Hiro for all his money's worth.

Sachi was shrieking in laughter as Ichiro reluctantly gave her a piggyback ride, while Hana was clinging to Ichiro's leg, trying to slow them down.

Akira was chatting away to Katsuro, who was tuning her out, sitting emo-style in a corner.

Meanwhile, Naruto was kneading his head with his hands, trying to assess how well-trained the kids were, and their approximate ninja rank.

"Hey," Shikamaru motion-whispered to Hana. "Naruto needs me to test you. It won't take that long."

Warily, Hana looked at Ino, who nodded. "Ok, but make it quick."

Shikamaru quickly wrote down a long, unintelligible math problem on a piece of paper. "Solve it."

Glancing over it, Hana wrote down an answer that had lots of squiggles and foreign symbols in it.

Ino whistled. "Wow Hana-chan! I didn't know you could do that!"

She blushed. "I found a book on it in one of the towns we passed through. I figured it would come in handy, so, I memorized it!"

Shikamaru nodded. "Good. Now, what would you do if you and your team of five Chuunin were surrounded by, say, three Jonin?"

Hana rolled her eyes. "That's easy. I would think up a plan with my awesome skillz, and then use my ninja powers to get us out of trouble!" She flashed Shikamaru a shit-eating grin and a peace sign before skipping off towards her smirking mother.

Shikamaru could only stare after her.

* * *

A few moments later, the girls (Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata) and, strangely enough, Naruto, were happily bragging about their kids, while Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru were faced with other… predicaments.

Crash.

All eyes flew to the (Now completely shattered) door of Naruto's office, while the last three members of Team Hebi crashed through into the (Already quite full) office.

"OH SASUKE-KUN! I HEARD A RUMOR THAT A PINK-HAIRED BITCH IS IN KONOHA AND SHE IS HARRASING YOU-" Karin stopped shrieking long enough to catch sight of Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru trussed up on the floor like chickens. "SASUKE-KUN! WHAT DID THAT BITCH DO TO YOU? I WAS RIGHT! YOU ARE BEING HARRASED! SASUKE-KUN YOU'RE SO BRAVE FOR LIVING THROUGH HER TORTURE!" Karin wailed, clinging to Sasuke, while Neji and Shikamaru looked rather miffed because they were tied up too, and they didn't see anyone doing anything about it.

Meanwhile, Sakura was fuming. Literally. I mean, you could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. "ExCUSE ME? YOU SKANK! I HAVE MORE RIGHT TO BE IN KONOHA THAN YOU! FROM WHAT I REMEMBER, YOU WERE SHUT UP IN SOME DUNGEON IN OROCHIMARU'S HIDEOUT! BESIDES, WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO CALL ME A BITCH, YOU SLUT?" Sakura roared, her eyes skirting over Karin's tiny tube top and ridiculously short skirt. "I MEAN, WHAT ARE YOU, A PROSTITUTE OR SOMETHING? WHAT KIND OF SELF-RESPECTING NINJA WOULD GO SKIPPING AROUND IN A SKIRT LIKE THAT AND THREE-INCH HEELS?"

Sasuke grunted in embarrassment, glaring at the rest of the smirking room from his place in the middle of Sakura and Karin. "Shut up Karin, I don't need your help."

"YOU'RE SO BRAVE SASUKE-KUN!" He rolled his eyes. Would she ever shut up?

"Sakura IS NOT harassing me. So shut up and stop bothering me."

Karin's eyes watered. "Don't you love me Sasuke-kun?" she wailed.

"Nope." Sasuke said happily. Well, as happily as an embarrassed, tied up, extremely angry Sasuke could say.

"SO, THANKSFORVISITINGHOPEYOUCOMEAGAIN!" Naruto said in one breath, pushing Team Hebi out the door.

"AND DON'T COME BACK BITCH!" Sakura hollered.

"Nice to know you care about me Sakura." Sasuke teased.

"Nope, I just dislike Karin with inexplicable hatred!" she trilled, placing her foot in-between Sasuke's shoulder blades.

Sasuke 'hned,' while Neji asked "Why aren't you tied up Naruto?"

He happily replied, "Cuz Hinata-chan is a great girlfriend!"

"Lucky bastard," Shikamaru muttered.

* * *

After Shikamaru's disastrous examination with Hana, Naruto just opted to have the kids fight one another and assess their talents from that.

"Naruto, can I _please_ be untied?"

"I'm afraid not teme! The deal with the girls was that you guys-" he pointed to Neji and Shikamaru next to Sasuke, "would have to be publicly humiliated. So, what better way then to parade you around town tied up and gagged?" He smirked. "Don't worry, you get untied at the end of the day."

"Lucky bastard," Neji muttered.

Naruto grinned. He seemed to be getting a lot of that these days.

* * *

In the middle on Team 7's old training grounds, the kids were warming up for their training fight. All the moms were calling out encouragement, while the guys were trying to appear that they weren't interested in the fight.

"HAHA TEME, I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" Hiro shouted in Daisuke's ear.

"Hiro, what did I tell you about calling Daisuke-kun a bastard?" Hinata admonished sternly.

Hiro blushed. "Sorry kaa-san." Of course, five minutes later, Hiro was back to jeering at Daisuke and calling him a bastard.

"Shut up dobe," Daisuke sniffed. He then ran off to go warm up with Ichiro, Akira, and Katsuro.

"COME BACK HERE TEME! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!"

Unwillingly, Sasuke turned his head, responding to the name 'teme.'

Hiro gasped. "DAISUKE-TEME! THAT BASTARD GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE YOU RESPONDED TO YOUR NAME!"

Daisuke sniffed. "Only I can be called teme, you idiot."

Sasuke snorted. "I was born before you, I think I have the right to be called that name, seeing as Hiro's father has called me that since before you were born."

Thus, Sasuke and Daisuke fought about who had the right to be called teme, while the rest of the world sweat-dropped and wondered why anyone would actually _want_ to be called a bastard.

* * *

"Kabuto-kun, tell Kimimaro-kun that I have a mission for him," Orochimaru smirked. "It's time to teach Sasuke-kun a lesson. _No one_ can escape me."

* * *

-Sasuke's POV-

Training was over. And I couldn't believe it. We _all_ couldn't believe it. Those kids… They were so strong. Strong enough, in fact, that they would probably be better than us once they hit fifteen. They all worked together in a group, with Akira, Katsuro, and Hiro dealing with close-range attacks and Hana dealing with the long-range attacks. My kids… Ichiro, Daisuke, Sachi-chan… They protected the whole group, acting as the co-leaders in battle, hitting as many people with the sharingan as they could before leaving the rest to the other kids.

Hana was the strategist, telling the others what to do, when all the other kids put their bloodlines to use and did what she told them to. I bet she liked that, having control over the group in that way. Just like one big family. A happy one. Something I never got to have.

Against my will, I shivered. That boy, my son, Ichiro… He was just like _him._ I know he didn't mean it, I know he's just a kid. He's my kid. But he looked like him, acted like him, and was strong like him. Saying he was stronger than the other kids was an understatement. Even Daisuke couldn't catch up to him. He was obviously the leader of the group, the protector. They all looked up to him, even though they were the same age. Even that arrogant Katsuro kid. Even Hiro, who was related to _Naruto,_ was smart enough not to mess with him. It seemed only Sachi had the power to order Ichiro around. If I had a sister, would my life be like that? Would she have changed him? Would he have corrected his mistakes? _Him_. If it weren't for him, would my life still be like this? Would I be surrounded by my family, surrounded by love?

Ichiro's stance… His voice, and his attitude… It made me fear him. Evoked memories from my past that were better left buried. It didn't matter that he was my son. It didn't even matter that he was only a child, only five years old. I regarded him with equal amounts of fear, hatred, and love. Because he was just like _him._

I was ashamed. What kind of parent hated their kid? What kind of parent hated their kid just because that kid looked like someone they hated? It wasn't his fault. He wasn't even alive then. He didn't even know he had an uncle. But I guess some things were better left unmentioned.

* * *

"_Foolish little brother, such a weakling."_

I was not foolish. I was not weak.

**"_Live, live your pathetic life, live in fear of me."_**

You were my brother.

**"_You lack hatred. You are weak."_**

Hating someone did not give you strength. Loving someone did not make you weak.

**"_Our family, they deserved to die."_**

You deserve to die.

**"_Come to me when you are strong, when you have my eyes."_**

You do not control me.

**"_You are weak."_**

I am strong.

* * *

**XxX**

**Ack, that was pathetic.**

**Btw, it's not that Sasuke hates Ichiro; it's just that he reminds him of Itachi. Sorry if that wasn't too clear.**

**I was reading the previous chapters, and I just wanted to say that the reason the girls knew that they were pregnant so early on is because Ino and Sakura taught them all some medical Jutsu, so they could tell when they were pregnant.**

**I'm really sorry this chapter seemed to revolve around Sasuke, I promise the next chapter will have more of the rest of the gang in it.**

**I was listening to Linkin Park, and I found Sasuke a theme song. It's called Numb, try look at the lyrics. It sorta sounds like him. Oddly enough.**

**On the bright side, this chapter is the longest so far!**

**Man, I'm stuck on the song Hero/Heroine by Boys Like Girls, and I don't know why…**

**Once again, thx for the review Hana Natsumi Hime!!**

**Anyways, sorry I'm ranting. R&R peoplez!**

**Hugs and kisses! - SnowWhiteAngel**


	6. Benefits

**Sigh This chapter was hard to write, I wasn't sure of what to do with Itachi… Hopefully it turned out ok.**

**Lol, can you imagine Naruto skipping around town singing "I'm in loooove, with a giiirrrllll, I'm. In. Love!"**

**XD**

**I can also imagine everyone laughing at him while he does that.**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter Six: Benefits

-Sasuke's POV-

Since I was still rather put out that yesterday I had been publicly humiliated by Sakura and the girls, I stood against a tree at Team 7's training grounds, watching the kids do their daily training.

They had been embraced by Konoha and were now official citizens, thanks to their status as Naruto's friends. Though I also suspected that the citizens of Konoha were no match for the puppy-dog eyes all the children knew how to use.

I was also aware that Ichiro was watching me, because he had been keeping an eye on me since yesterday.

_**Flashback**_

"_**Haha, you loser," Hiro was laughing at Sasuke while he was still tied up.**_

_**Meanwhile, Sasuke was fighting the urge to escape the ropes and beat the kid up.**_

"_**Sasuke-san? Uh, um, I was wondering, did you love my kaa-san? Because kaa-san says when people love each other they have kids, but, um, so, I was wondering if you loved her. You did right?" Sachi asked Sasuke in a worried tone.**_

"_**Of course I love your kaa-san Sachi-chan. I still love her, even if she doesn't love me." Sasuke answered sadly.**_

"_**O-oh, ok! I was just wondering!" she walked off happily. Sasuke could see her telling Sakura something and he wondered if she was telling her what he had just said.**_

_**He could see Sakura smiling and nodding, before hugging Sachi and kissing her forehead. He smiled. At least his kids could have a half-decent family. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He could see Ichiro walking towards him with a glint in his eyes. Ichiro stared up at him and Sasuke looked straight into the eyes of his sharingan.**_

_**His world turned black, before refocusing to see that he was tied to a cross in a black and white world, with Ichiro staring at him.**_

"_**I had to resort to using this so I wouldn't frighten my kaa-san," he deadpanned. "So I'm just going to spit it out, don't come near my family. I already know that you didn't love my kaa-san; otherwise we would have grown up here with you. But we didn't. So you STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY. If you hurt ANYONE, ANYONE in my family, I will not hesitate to kill you. It does not matter that you are my dad. If you do anything at all to my otouto, my kaa-san, and my other friends, you will regret it. Especially if you hurt my imouto, Sachi-chan. So I will say it once more, stay away from my family," he snarled.**_

_**After that, he released the Jutsu, and walked away.**_

_**End Flashback**_

If anything, it was unnerving. To know that your kid hated you wasn't exactly a pleasant fact. I frowned. _'I bet Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru don't have that problem.'_

"KAI!" Daisuke shouted, releasing Ichiro's Genjutsu.

I could feel Shikamaru shifting beside me. "How does a little kid like Ichiro know a Genjutsu of that level? It's one of the Genjutsu that go coupled with the sharingan, and I'm pretty sure none of the girls could have taught him that."

Neji frowned. "That's right. A kid like that shouldn't know a Jutsu that strong. They're what, four? Five?"

The kids were now skipping towards us, chatting about random things.

"Actually, Itachi-senpai taught me that Jutsu! He taught all of us it!" Daisuke exclaimed, his eyes shining with respect and admiration. While he said this he motioned to his brother and sister.

I narrowed my eyes. "Itachi… Uchiha?" I ground out.

He shrugged. "I don't know, he didn't tell us his last name."

"Actually, foolish otouto, Itachi-senpai told us that he had a stupid, weak, little brother and that they were the last of their clan. Therefore, Itachi-senpai should be an Uchiha, since they were the only clan that was almost totally wiped out in the last ten years. Also, since Chicken-butt over here is an Uchiha… He must be the foolish little brother!" Ichiro smirked as he said this.

I felt anger and jealousy bubble up through me, because I had heard a tone of respect in Ichiro's voice when he mentioned Itachi. It was the first time I had ever heard that kid show respect for anyone but his mother and her friends.

"Itachi-senpai was so cool! But I liked Deidara-senpai more, his hair is awesome! He showed me how to put it up like he does!" Hana squealed.

Now that she mentioned it, her hair suddenly took on a distinct Deidara-like aura.

I saw Naruto narrowing his eyes. Wait… give the idiot five seconds to figure it out and process the thought…

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

"NANI?! YOU GUY'S HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH AKATSUKI?!" he shrieked.

I rolled my eyes. _'Took the dobe long enough.'_

Sakura shrugged apologetically. "We accidentally met up in Rain, when the kids were just starting their shinobi training. I guess the Itachi liked us once he heard that we hated you guys, so he stopped Kisame from dismembering us and taught the kids a few Jutsu." She shrugged again. "It was no big deal. We lived around them for, say, only a couple of weeks. It's not like we told them any big secrets about Konoha or anything."

"Deidara-senpai told me I was the strongest Kunoichi in the group!" Hana bragged.

"WHAT? HE TOLD ME THAT TOO!" Akira said in confusion.

"WELL TOO BAD, HE LIKES ME MORE BECAUSE MY HAIR IS LIKE HIS. SO THERE." Hana said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, Kisame-senpai told me I was the best Kunoichi TOO! That's Deidara-senpai AND Kisame-senpai! Besides, if I wasn't the strongest, why would Kisame-senpai give me this sword?" Akira reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll, before using it to summon a miniature katana.

I could practically see Neji's eyes falling out of his head.

Meanwhile, the Sakura and the others were still discussing the Akatsuki together.

"Ha-ha, no big deal Forehead? From what I recall you and Itachi-san made out a few times during your 'training sessions-'" Ino suddenly found herself smashed into a tree. "Oi, Forehead that hurt!"

"Oh yeah Pig? What about you and Deidara-kun, huh? What was that you said? 'Deidara-kun is _soooo_ handsome, and when he says 'Yeah' all the time, that is so CUTE!'" Sakura fake-squealed. Suddenly, Sakura was the one who found herself smashed into a tree trunk.

Ino blushed. "WE WERE DRUNK FOREHEAD! I MEAN, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT-" Ino stuttered out. "And besides, what was that Uchiha used to call you?"

"W-wait, I thought I told you to forget that-"

"Of course, _Sakura-hime_!" Ino, Tenten, and Hinata chorused.

"Noooo, Hina-chan, I thought you were the nice one!" Sakura mock-cried. She huffed. "Besides, we were NOT going out. It was more of a sparring-partners-with-benefits thing."

"WHAT?" Naruto screamed. "YOU AND ITACHI?!"

Thump.

And there went the dobe.

I twisted around to see what Shikamaru and Neji thought about it, when I saw Shikamaru arguing heatedly with Ino about Deidara, and Neji… Well… Neji was unconscious thanks to Tenten, who saw the distraction Sakura and Ino caused as an _opportunity_ to take her anger out on Neji.

And then, just as I was about to tell Sakura _exactly_ what I thought of her and Itachi together, I couldn't find her anywhere.

"HEY, GET THE HELL BACK HERE SAKURA!"

* * *

"WELL?" Orochimaru hissed. "Is Kimimaro-kun done with his mission yet?"

"Kimimaro-kun has sent word that he has found where Sasuke lives, and he has some interesting information to go with that."

"And just what is that Kabuto-kun?"

"He has found out where the seven kids you're interested in live."

"And where is that?"

"In Konoha with Sasuke-kun."

"Excellent. From what I gather, three of those kids should be his, heaven forbid they're Itachi's, so… By kidnapping the kids, I can cause Sasuke-kun grief and take possession of seven highly skilled, easily gullible shinobi!" he licked his lips. "I can kill two birds with one stone that way."

"Very well. I shall send Kimimaro-kun and a team of three Jonin to retrieve the kids."

* * *

-Neji's POV-

"Tenten?" I whispered. I was standing outside of Tenten, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura's house (cough mansion cough). After living together for so long, they just bought a huge house for them and the kids using an inside source (Ahem Naruto's Hokage savings).

"Nii-san?"

"May I please speak to Tenten Hinata-sama?"

She smiled somewhat triumphantly. "Just Hinata Neji, just Hinata. And sure, come in."

She led me down a hall as I looked around. Their house was almost as big as the Hyuuga mansion.

"Ah, here we are. This is Tenten's room, Nii-san. You should be quiet; Akira-chan and Katsuro-kun are sleeping in there with her."

"Hai," I said as I pushed open the door. "Tenten…" I murmured. She was sleeping there in a white nightgown with Akira on her left and Katsuro on her right.

"Neji?" she hissed. Being a Kunoichi, she had automatically woken up when I said her name. "What the hell are you doing here? Get the hell out before I kick your sorry little-"

"Tenten, I wanted to apologize. I'm really sorry and all, and-"

"Take your apology and shove it up your ass. I can't believe it took you six years to grow the balls to apologize to me!"

"I wanted to apologize once I realized what I had done! Which was six years ago! I wanted to apologize ever since you left Konoha!"

I could see her blush in the moonlight. "Oh, well, um…" she seemed flustered. "Look teme, I don't forgive and forget that easy, you'll have to make it up to me," she smirked. "You can start by giving me a massage."

* * *

**XxX**

**Damn, that was a long chapter. I know the Akatsuki seemed a little ooc, but I guess the story wouldn't really work as well if they weren't.**

**It took me the entire day to write this chapter; in fact I think it's the longest yet. (They keep getting longer and longer it seems…)**

**The song I mentioned above was In Love With a Girl by Gavin DeGraw, in case you were wondering.**

**If you have time, I want you guys to go on DeviantART and check out hellpoemer's stuff. Especially the Dance Flashes.**

**Btw, thx for reviewing, Deyanira-chan, Hana Natsumi Hime, vash3055, and bobbinbird! You all made my day!**

**R&R peoplez! Feel free to offer any ideas!**

**-SnowWhiteAngel**


	7. Of Jealousy and Pandas

**I'm hooked on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, cuz that show just totally kicks ass.**

**Ehmagawd, Breaking Dawn is coming out soon! (Fangirl-ish squeal)**

**I'm so happy!!**

**I just realized that I haven't been putting in disclaimers, so…**

**I do not and never will own Naruto except for in my dreams, in which Gaara would be dating Sakura and Sasuke would be stuck in his little emo corner. Also, Naruto would finally put his limited amounts of brain cells to use and ask Hinata out. Really, how dense is he?**

**Sorry the update took so long, my weekend was super busy. I'll try to update sooner next time!**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 7: Of Jealousy and Pandas

So far, life was good in Konoha. It's been a week since Neji and Tenten started talking to each other again, a week since Ichiro started to trust Sasuke, at least a little. But now, another complication arises for the boys in the form of the Kazekage…

"NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL'VE YOU BEEN EATING WHILE I WAS GONE!?" Sakura screeched, pointing to the piles of instant ramen containers littering Naruto's kitchen.

Naruto had invited the gang over for lunch, claiming to have a little 'surprise' for them. However, when Sakura offered to make lunch for them… Let's just say Naruto regretted his offer a bit. The girls were all dressed casually, in loose T-shirts (or tunic, in Hinata's case) and shorts. Sakura and Ino's hair was tied up in a single messy bun with some senbon holding them in place, while Hinata's was loose, flowing over her shoulders. And Tenten, of course, was wearing her hair in her customary buns.

"Sakura-chan! Don't throw out the ramen- Hey, that's my favorite flavor! Stop it! Hinata-chan, make it stop!" he whimpered, clutching Hinata's tunic.

"Naruto, you're whipped," Sasuke stated, whapping Naruto on the back of his head.

He could see Ino whispering something to Sakura, who then sauntered up to Sasuke, grinning sexily.

"Sasuke-kun…" she purred, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. She started kissing his neck slowly; feeling him stiffen, and then relax. He shivered slightly, before spinning her around and kissing back. After a minute, she stepped back, grinning, before high-fiving Ino.

"Whipped," Ino deadpanned.

Sasuke could only grunt a bit and leave so he could 'go find the kids.'

"Well, that'll be a story to tell the grandkids!" Tenten stated cheerfully.

* * *

-Kimimaro's POV-

I could see them, those kids Orochimaru-sama wanted me to retrieve. They were playing in the garden of the Hokage's house, practicing their Jutsus. I wonder what he wanted them for… Surely I was enough? Was something wrong with me? Why would he want those kids when he has me?

* * *

"What's up my chikas?" Temari said, hugging Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten before air-kissing Ino on both cheeks. She had burst into Naruto's kitchen, with her arms slung casually around her brothers' necks. Needless to say, Gaara and Kankuro had looked rather pissed at their sister's behavior.

"Surprise!" Naruto gasped out, choking from Kankuro's headlock.

"Nice to see you too, Naru-tard," Kankuro said sarcastically.

"I TOLD YOU (deep breath) NOT TO (gasp) CALL ME THAT!" Naruto wheezed, massaging his throat.

"H-hey, don't hit m-my b-boyfriend!" Hinata squeaked out, rushing over to Naruto.

"Boyfriend?" Gaara stated incredulously. "You're telling me that this idiot is your boyfriend?"

"Uh wuh-oh," Kankuro muttered to Naruto. "The girls visited us back when the kids were still babies, and Gaara actually _dated _Sakura for a bit. But he's real over-protective about Hinata, the guy acts like her father or something. Therefore, I say you should run while you have the chance."

Naruto gulped. "H-hey, Gaara, no hard feelings, right?"

"You're dating Hinata-chan?" Gaara growled again, getting ready to murder Naruto.

"True that," Temari nodded.

Sakura gasped. "Kami-sama, Temari! Don't encourage him!" She ran over to Gaara, followed by Hinata.

"Oh, don't worry Panda-kun! We still love you!" they crooned, with Hinata hugging him from the front and Sakura from the back.

"Panda… kun?" Neji muttered, his eyebrow twitching a bit.

"They're the only people that can get away with that. Trust me… we've tried," Tenten shuddered slightly, remembering the horrific day when she, Ino, and Temari had decided to tease Gaara about his pet name.

* * *

-Kimimaro's POV-

"Katsuro-kun! Did you see that fireball I made?" That girl, the air-headed pinkie, she was waving at that long-haired kid.

"Is that kid a boy, or a girl…?" one of my men whispered to his neighbor.

"Be quiet. Do not endanger the success of the mission. The only reason Orochimaru-sama had me bring you along was because I need someone to carry the kids. You are-" I smirked, "easily replaceable."

And, just like magic, he shut up.

"Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" the girls cried, running into the room their mothers were in. "Come look at Sachi's fireball!"

"Dammit," I swore, "how are we supposed to get those kids now? We needed them all, and now the weak little girls are with their moms." I shrugged. Looks like Orochimaru-sama would have to make deal with the boys. They were stronger anyways. "Get them."

* * *

"OKAY. So, we know why we are here, right? Gaara and Kankuro might be a problem in our plans. So, we need to find a way to get them out of the picture!" Naruto stated, holding a pointer with a piece of chalk at the tip. "He was totally hitting on Hinata-chan!"

"Sakura too, she was being way too friendly with that asshole," Sasuke growled.

"Aw, is widdle Uchiha jeawous?" Neji smirked.

"Why you-"

"Break it up people. We're not here to fight. You all know that recent information shows that one Uchiha Itachi, Deidara, Gaara, and Kankuro might be a barrier in our plans to win the girls back, so, I propose that we-" Shikamaru stopped talking as the lights flickered on.

"Holy mother-"

"Hyuuga, Nara, Uchiha,_ Uzumaki_, you better tell me why the hell you idiots are holding a meeting in the closet of my _guestroom_ in _your _house."

The four looked up into the eyes of one furious Kazekage.

* * *

-Sakura's POV-

"Wow Sachi, that Jutsu was impressive! If you keep that up, you'll be better than Daisuke!"

Sachi beamed up at me, and I felt my heart warm up at the sight. But then, the feeling quickly dried up as I heard someone screaming for help.

"KAA-SAN! KAA-SAN! **KAA-SAN!**"

"LET GO OF US YOU BASTARDS! KAA-SAN, HINA-CHAN, INO-CHAN, HELP US!!" a familiar voice screamed, his voice hoarse and frantic.

"DAISUKE! HIRO!" we all rushed out of the room, only to see my children, my _babies_ being carried away by five ninja, as well as one I recognized all too well. "KIMIMARO, YOU BASTARD! GIVE ME MY CHILDREN BACK!" I screamed, chasing after them in reckless abandon. "_ICHIRO! DAISUKE! KATSURO, HIRO, CAN YOU HEAR US!" _we were all shouting, screaming for our children. I felt my heart being ripped away from me, felt my world grow dim as I realized we had lost them.

"HANA, GO FIND YOUR FATHER. NARUTO-KUN, SASUKE-KUN, GAARA-KUN, HELP US! SOMEBODY HELP US!" I fell to my knees, crying. "My babies…"

I felt Ino hugging me, crying. Hinata was wailing for Hiro, begging for Naruto to go get him. But we were too far away. Even if they had heard us, they would still be too late.

"DAISUKE! ANIKI!" I felt Sachi huddle down next to me, her voice scratchy.

"Kaa-san will get them back, she will get Katsuro back," Akira whispered. Tenten had kept following them, kept going when we had given up.

"She'll get them back, she has too," I only hoped I could convince myself that it was true.

* * *

-Daisuke's POV-

Confused, hurting, anger, the emotions tumbled around inside my head. I could hear Ichiro whispering to me in a protective voice, one that tried so hard to make it seem nothing was wrong.

"Otouto, Kaa-san will get us. She will. She'll kill this bastard, she'll rescue us," Ichiro promised into my hair, hugging me fiercely. "It's ok, just be strong. Don't worry Daisuke, kaa-san will come."

* * *

Hana burst in through the doors of Gaara's guest suite. "KAA-SAN'S IN DANGER! THEY'RE ALL GONE, HIRO, KATSURO, ICHIRO, DAISUKE! PLEASE, SAVE THEM!"

* * *

"KATSURO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

"Kaa-san! I'm over here!"

* * *

Sakura punched a tree, feeling empty as she watched it crumble into dust. "She will save them. She _must._"

* * *

Hana looked around at the empty room. No one was there.

* * *

Tenten looked around with puffy, red-rimmed eyes. She had failed. She couldn't protect her baby.

* * *

A shriek of anger, hatred, and sorrow rang through the woods.

"Tenten…"

* * *

**XxX**

**Omg, I feel so bad… I'm sorry. Please don't attack me in my sleep. As I know some of you might want to. I'm like, super bad at cliffys… so… sorry!**

**Sorry for updating so late…**

**Thank you Hana Natsumi Hime and chikkachoo for the awesome reviews!**

**I don't know if this chapter was any good… I wrote it at eleven at night after getting six hours of sleep. I might rewrite it or something…**

**-SnowWhiteAngel**


	8. Enter Akatsuki

**Wow, this story has like, 638 hits and like, 8 reviews.**

**COME ON PEOPLE! PRESS THE LITTLE BLUE BUTTON!**

**One review is better than none.**

**Even if you only put up one word.**

**That is today's lesson.**

**XD**

**XxX**

* * *

Ch. 8: Enter Akatsuki

"It's our only hope…" Sachi whispered to Hana. "Do it."

Hana nodded. "Okay."

She reached into her kunai pouch and took out a little clay bird, then let it go. She watched it fly away, and then sighed uneasily. "Are we doing the right thing? Shouldn't we tell kaa-san first?"

Akira shook her head. "Like Sachi-chan said, it's our only hope."

* * *

"Hey, un, look what I found!"

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise to let the girls go into the forest alone?"

"No worries Saku-chan, they showed me the clearing they were going to, it's perfectly safe, nothing will happen to them."

"Tenten is right Forehead; the girls just need some time alone."

"I just hope they don't try to get the boys back… They're too smart to fall into a trap like that. Hana wouldn't let them go… Would she?"

"I-I trust Hana-chan c-completely… She knows better than t-to fall into O-Orochimaru's trap."

"Of course you're right. I'm sorry I doubted them."

"I-it's ok…"

* * *

"DAMMIT, HOW MUCH LONGER WILL IT TAKE?! WE NEED TO SET OFF FOR OTO IMMEDIATELY! WE NEED TO GET HIRO BACK! HE'S MY SON!"

"H-Hokage-sama, you're the leader of the v-village, you can't just leave… We need to make sure the village is s-safe before you can go."

"WELL MAKE IT SNAPPY! AND MAKE SURE SHIKAMARU, NEJI, AND TEME ARE READY TOO. WE'RE GONNA LEAVE AS SOON AS WE CAN."

The Chuunin cowered in fear, for Naruto was beginning to change into his Kyuubi form.

"Hai. I will inform them i-immediately Hokage-sama." The Chuunin disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto sat down wearily, rubbing his head. He wanted his kid back. And he wanted him back _now._

_**Flashback**_

"_**Shh, shh, Hinata-chan, it's ok. We'll get him back, I promise," Naruto was holding Hinata in his arms. She was sobbing noiselessly, mourning the loss of her son.**_

_**Neji was patting Tenten's back, who was letting him hold her for the first time in years.**_

"_**Don't worry, we'll get them back. Daisuke and Ichiro are strong, they'll hold through. Especially considering who was their mother," Sasuke was awkwardly hugging a crying Sakura, trying to make her laugh, or show any signs of joy.**_

_**Ino was sleeping in Shikamaru's lap, worn out.**_

_**Sakura crawled over to Tenten, hugging her and comforting her. And as they did this, the guys exchanged silent looks, and an agreement was made. The girls would never have to go through this kind of suffering again. Not if they could help it.**_

_**End Flashback.**_

* * *

"Very well, we leave for Konoha at once then."

"I wonder why they need us. I told her to only use it in times of great emergency, yeah."

"I can see why. Can you imagine? Us, turning up in Konoha? Puh-leaze."

"Stop acting like a child. You-" he motioned to the blonde shinobi, "get your partner here at once. As soon as he arrives, we leave."

"Alright, alright, yeah," the blonde disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Goddamn brat."

* * *

**XxX**

**Guess who that was!!**

**(Sighs happily)**

**Finally, the plot is MOVING!**

**I'm sorry it's sooo short, but you people all know it's just a filler, and I'll write out another chapter tomorrow then post it. This is just a filler/explainer thingy...**

**Thank you StreetRacerSakura for reviewing the last chapter!**

**R&R pplz! I know you're out there! Take five seconds to push that tiny blue button and write a word or two!**

**You get cookies!**

**-Angel**


	9. Compromise

**Ok, here's the actual chapter chapter. Thx for waiting!**

**XxX**

* * *

Ch. 9: Compromise

A few days later, they arrived.

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU BASTARDS DO TO MY HANA-CHAN?!" the blonde roared, carrying a brown haired, blue eyed child in his arms. "I LEAVE HER ALONE FOR A FEW MONTHS AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS?"

The ANBU confronting him twitched a bit. "Sir, you'll have to come in for questioning, if you don't comply, we will have to take you in by force."

"FORCE MY ASS! I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HANA-CHAN!" the blonde stomped around, screaming at the ANBU while motioning to the limp child he held.

A few minutes later, three more shinobi burst through the trees, closely followed by two children. The sight they saw astounded them.

"OY! STOP BITCHING AROUND YOU IDIOT! THEY ALREADY EXPLAINED TO US WHAT HAPPENED!" one of the men yelled, just as the child opened her eyes.

"Uncle… Deidara?"

* * *

"…Does that man have gills?"

"I HEARD THAT YOU ASSHOLE!"

* * *

"HINATA-SAMA, SAKURA-SAN, INO-SAN, TENTEN-SAN! COME QUICK! THE AKATSUKI ARE ATTACKING KONOHA!"

"…"

"Since when were you 'Hinata-sama?'"

She shrugged. "One of the perks of being the Hokage's girlfriend, I guess."

* * *

"Deidara-senpai!! I'm fine, really! Me 'n Sachi-chan 'n Kira-chan were just training!"

He huffed. "You most certainly are _NOT_ alright! Why am I here then? You have to be in some sort of danger!" he took the small clay bird out from behind his back. "That's why you sent him! You're in danger, yeah!"

She huffed back. "_I'm _not in danger, _Ichiro, Daisuke, Katsuro, and Hiro_ are! WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD GET OFF YOUR ASS AND START SAVING THEM!"

He pouted. "I'm hurt Hana-chan!"

The ANBU stared. _This _was the legendary S-class criminal, Deidara of the Akatsuki?

* * *

After traveling for days on end, the six Sound shinobi finally made it back to Oto.

"Itai!" Hiro whimpered, before hastily shutting his mouth and putting on a brave face. They had just been dumped in a dungeon, before a man with a bandaged face.

"Well done Kimimaro-kun…" the man said.

Daisuke blanched. He was paralyzed with fear, wondering what that man wanted with him and his family.

"Hello children, I've wanted to talk to you for some time…" the man laughed creepily, sending shivers down Daisuke's back. "it seems we have much to talk about."

* * *

"Deidara!" Ino growled. "What did you do to my Hana-chan?"

"Nothing, un!"

"Oh, hey Itachi!" Sakura said cheerfully. Then, the full gravity of the situation hit her. "ITACHI?"

"Hime," he stated, nodding at her.

She blushed.

Suddenly, Sasuke appeared.

A shadow crossed Itachi's face. "Foolish little brother…" he began darkly. "I see you are still a weak, pitiful little-"

"DIE ITACHI!" Sasuke screamed, rushing toward Itachi with Chidori on full blast.

"…" Sakura sighed. "CUT THE CRAP ITACHI!" she finally screamed, catching Sasuke's arm and slapping Itachi.

"Sakura-chaaann! Let the teme kill him, it'll be fun!" Naruto whined, helping a (rather embarrassed) Sasuke up.

"No. Now, girls, wanna explain why the Akatsuki suddenly showed up in Konoha?" Sakura arched an eyebrow, arms crossed.

Hana coughed. "Uncle Deidara can explain!"

"Hey, what? Not fair, yeah!"

"Deidara…" Tenten tapped her foot, waiting.

"Well, I gave Hana a homing device, so that if she was in danger she could tell me, and she called, yeah! So, we came here, and she was hurt because they were training-"

"And Deidara freaked out and started a bitch-fight with the ANBU-"

"Shut up Kisame! Anyways, un, so then Hana-chan woke up and said the boys were in danger, then Sasuke tried to murder Itachi, and then you asked what happened, and then Kisame interrupted-"

"Hold on a sec," Ino said, putting her hands on her hips, "you're telling me that YOU gave MY baby girl an _explosive_ homing device without telling _me_, her MOM, about it?"

"It was a weak explosive, yeah!"

"That doesn't matter! My baby could have been hurt!" she glared.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Deidara's an idiot. Problem solved!" Kisame said cheerfully. "But anyways, like he said, we're here to get Katsuro and the others back!"

"How do we know you're not lying?," Tenten said skeptically. "Besides, you guys are willing to work with _these _guys?" she motioned to Naruto, who was scratching his head, Sasuke, who was being bored with Neji, and Shikamaru, who was glaring at Deidara for holding _his _Hana-chan. (Hoo boy, possessive much?)

Itachi glared at Sasuke, who cheerfully glared back. "If it gets us back my kids," Sasuke stated, the same time Itachi said

"If we can get Ichiro and Daisuke back."

Sensing this was about to get ugly, Naruto sought to lighten the mood. "So…" he said, scratching his head, "anyone want some ramen?"

* * *

**XxX**

**Ah, Naruto logic.**

**I hope that was ok… I try not to make spelling / grammar mistakes and stuff…**

**(Rubs head)**

**Was that too short? I didn't have much time to write this... I'll make it longer next time.**

**Thank you Hana Natsumi Hime for sticking with me as I write this story, and thanx cherrysakura12345, Deerdryad, StreetRacerSakura, and the anonymous reviewer(s) WaterElement and Gaaraslvr77!**

**xoxoxoxo**

**Well then, R&R ppl!**

**-Angel out**


	10. Forever

**Hehe, sorry if most of the scenes in the story seem random…**

**(Scratches head)**

**Well, anyways, thx for reviewing ppl!!**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 10: Forever

It was the night before they would set out for Oto, and everyone was saying their last goodbyes.

* * *

"Wow, Hinata-chan, you look _great_!" Naruto exclaimed, taking in his girlfriend's midnight-blue tank top and black mini. She also had fishnet stockings and fishnet arm warmers on, as well as low black heels.

"Thank you N-Naruto-kun! Y-you too!" she blushed, before taking his arm and following him out into the night.

They walked on for a few minutes, talking reminiscently, remembering events from the past.

"Hinata-chan, remember at the Chuunin exams?"

She giggled. "That was when you beat Nii-san, and h-helped me to grow strong enough to face him! As if I'd ever forget!"

They continued on like that, before reaching their destination. It was another place that evoked memories, a place they had often gone to on dates before. It was Naruto's favorite place to go on romantic dates with Hinata, it was… Ichiraku Ramen.

"Hey old man! Two beef ramen please!"

"Sure thing Naruto!" Teuchi smiled. "Hey there Hinata-san!"

"H-hey Teuchi-san," she smiled softly.

"Itadakimasu!" they said, one softly, and one loudly, before eating together, enjoying the moment while it lasted.

* * *

She smiled softly, her long blond hair glinting in the moonlight. Slowly, she walked across the room, carrying a brush and a scroll, before sitting down on the seat before the bay window in her room. She slipped her pale silver robe over her shoulders, before beginning to write.

_Dear Mari-chan,_

_We're going to Oto to rescue the boys tomorrow, so I'm pretty excited. But just in case, if I don't survive, I want you, Forehead Girl, Hina-chan, and Tennie to take care of Hana-chan for me. You're one of my best friends, so I want you to take care of her if something happens to me._

_Hana-chan really likes the fan you gave her before you left Konoha, she practices every day so she can become as good as you._

_Hina-chan and Saku-chan wanted me to tell you to tell Gaara they said hi, and that they'll always love him, no matter what. They said they could never forget their 'little Panda-chan,' if you can believe it._

_Deidara-kun, Itachi-kun, Kisame-chan, and Sasori-san came to Konoha to help us with Oto, can you believe it? Sasuke-kun and Itachi-kun aren't even fighting that much! I swear, Forehead's got them wrapped around her finger._

_I think Shika-kun is jealous of Deidara-kun though, he hogs Hana-chan most of the day, so Shika never gets to spend any time with her. I think Hana-chan likes all the attention though!_

_Sadly, Sachi-chan and Kira-chan seem kind of depressed without their brothers there to play with them, so they train to get strong enough to help us get them back. Kira's getting really good with Kankuro's puppet that he gave her! Tell him she really enjoys the gift!_

_Anyways, enough of my ranting. What I really wanted to say was that I think Naruto's gonna- wait, I can't tell you. Guess you have to see next time you come to Konoha!_

_Much love, Ino_

Sighing peacefully, she finished the letter and cooed softly to a dove sitting on the windowsill. The dove came up to her, and she tied the scroll onto its leg, before wishing it a safe flight and letting it go. She gazed at the stars and the moon, reaching out as if to touch them. She fell asleep like that, curled softly in a ball on the pillows in her bay window, with the stars twinkling down on her.

* * *

They had finished their dinner a few minutes ago, and were now walking peacefully through the park, hand in hand.

"Come Hinata-chan, I have a surprise for you!"

She nodded enthusiastically, before being carried off by Naruto, bridal-style.

He set her down after a few minutes, before putting his hands over her eyes and leading her around. He finally let her sit down, and she felt soft grass brushing against her skin.

"Surprise Hinata-chan!" he said childishly, uncovering her eyes.

"Oh, my…" she gasped. They were sitting against a tree on a hill overlooking a lake, with the moon and the stars reflecting off its smooth, glassy surface. "Naruto, this is beautiful!"

"Hinata-chan… You didn't stutter!" he said, a look of childish wonder crossing his face.

She blushed, and he hugged her and kissed her forehead softly. "You're so cute!" he said, hugging her closer to him. Gently, he released her, before turning to look at her with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. "Hinata-chan… I've been thinking about this for a while now, and if something goes wrong at Oto… I just want you to know that I'll always love you. Hinata, will you marry me?" he pulled out a blue velvet box, and opened it to reveal a ring. It had a simple sterling silver band, with a beautiful dark blue sapphire set in the middle.

"Naruto-kun… I don't know what to say!" she breathed, feeling a bit dizzy.

"Say yes…" he pleaded.

'_Breathe in, breathe out…' _she reminded herself. She took in a deep breath, and…

"O-OF COURSE I'LL MARRY YOU! HOW COULD I NOT?" she finally screamed out in euphoria, throwing herself onto him and hugging him. He laughed in relief, and gave her a gentle kiss before slipping the ring onto her finger. He pulled away for a moment, before grinning and rubbing his head.

"Ano, but um, when I bought you that ring…"

Hinata pulled back, fearing that he had regrets about asking her to marry him.

"I sorta couldn't stop myself and bought you the set that goes with it," he pulled out a fine silver chain necklace with a sapphire hanging off of it, and two sapphire stud earrings.

She squealed happily, before launching herself into his arms and kissing him. After a minute, they broke the kiss and took in some much needed air. Naruto happily leaned back against the tree with Hinata in-between his legs, and pointed out constellations to her. They fell asleep like that, hugging each other as if to never let go.

* * *

"This'll be a bitch in the morning!" Tsunade said cheerfully, drinking what was now her fifteenth shot of sake.

"Shishou…" Sakura groaned. "You shouldn't drink so much! If you weren't a medic I bet you'll be dying of liver failure!"

"You're one to talk!" Sasuke retorted, motioning to the five cups of sake surrounding Sakura.

"Whatever Uchiha," she motioned for another shot. Unsure of what to do, Sasuke stole the shot and downed it. "Uchiha! Why'd you have to do that?"

"Drinking is bad for you!"

'_Besides,'_ he thought darkly, _'who knows what you'll do when you're drunk.'_ He looked over at Sakura, who, from his point of view, was basically shouting 'Rape me!'

She was wearing a black boat neck shirt, with a black mini and stiletto boots. In Sasuke's opinion, she looked too hot for her own good.

"Come on Uchiha, dance with me!

* * *

"Ah, that hit the spot!" Kisame sighed loudly, slamming down his tenth cup of sake.

"Dammit Kisame! Do you know how much this'll cost?" Itachi roared.

"Kami-sama! You're almost as bad as the Hokage!" Tenten groaned. Tenten had decided to bring Neji along for a drinking spree with the Akatsuki, so they could 'bond.' Let's just say it wasn't one of her _best_ ideas.

"You too Deidara!" Sasori barked. "Unless you wanna pay for it, stop drinking now!"

"Sasori-danna!" Deidara whined.

Neji twitched a bit. "Danna?"

Kisame and Tenten shrugged. They'd gotten used to it, so it didn't bother them anymore.

Neji twitched again. "Those two, are they…?" he pointed back and forth between Sasori and Deidara. He paled. "No way…" he turned a sickly green color before clapping his hands over his mouth and running towards the bathroom.

Tenten shouted a half-hearted 'Have fun Neji!' before turning around to see the Akatsuki staring at her. "What?"

Sasori motioned in the direction Neji had gone.

Tenten shrugged. "Who gives a shit?"

* * *

-Somewhere in girls' house…-

Akira groaned. "Why are we stuck being baby-sat by your dad?" she motioned towards Shikamaru, who was… sleeping.

Hana shrugged. "Don't ask me!"

"I'm bored!" Sachi stated.

"Not my problem."

"But I'm _boooreeedd!"_

"And _I don't care!_"

"But Hana-chan I'm BOOORRREEEDDD!!"

Suddenly Akira spun around. "PSYCHO-BITCH AT 11 O' CLOCK!"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Psycho-b- I mean Karin. What are you doing here?" Sachi growled.

"Hello, _little girl_. Is Sasuke-kun here?"

"No."

"Well, then, I'll just be going-" Karin stuck her nose up in the air and started to walk away, just as Sachi thought of the answer to her problem.

"Hey, wait, he might be here!"

"Really?" Karin was back at the doorstep in a second.

Sachi smirked. "_Nope_," she knocked Karin out and dragged her inside. "Look what I found guys!"

* * *

-Three Hours Later-

The girls had managed to dress Karin up like a clown, with white makeup and a red mouth and nose. She was wearing a top hat and a ridiculously puffy dress on her anorexically-thin figure with holey socks on her feet.

Sachi dusted herself off. "I'd say she looks better then she did before! Nice work girls!" she high-fived Hana and Akira.

Akira spun around again. "PSYCHO _SNAKE_ BITCH AT 5 O' CLOCK!"

Anko strolled in from the kitchen.

"…"

"How did you get in our house?"

Anko shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Silently, they shook their heads, just as Anko caught sight of Karin.

"Girls, what have I told you about torturing psycho-bitches?"

They sighed. "Don't torture them without you," they rolled their eyes.

Anko clapped. "Oh well! Now that I'm here, time to party!"

* * *

**XxX**

**I'm sorry if the marriage scene was cheesy or anything… I figure the story needs some happiness before all the angsty Orochimaru shit comes up.**

**Btw, Tenten's acting like that cuz she's drunk, and Neji was sick because normally only wives use 'danna,' so Neji was wondering if they were married, if that makes sense…**

**Wow, this chapter is one of the longest ones yet!**

**As usual, the thanks for the reviewers: I would like to present a giant plate of cookies to StreetRacerSakura, cherrysakura12345, ShamaLamaDingDong, Deerdryad, and XxFlyleaf.FanxX!**

**(Claps enthusiastically)**

**R**

**&**

**R**

**!**

**-SnowWhiteAngel!!**


	11. No Time for Naps

**A house… filled up with… this crap! Wrapped up in, bubble wrap! Most everyday, what I bought on EBAY!**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 11: No Time For Naps

"Can we come with you?" Sachi pleaded.

Sakura sighed. "No, Sachi-chan. It's too dangerous for you. What if you get hurt?"

Sachi put on a brave face. "But I _won't_ get hurt! I've been training and training so I could get strong enough to go on this mission!"

Sakura hugged her daughter. "That may be, but you have to remember you're only five. I wouldn't even let Ichiro on this mission if he wanted to go, no matter how strong he is."

Sachi's eyes widened. "Not even Ichiro?"

Sakura kissed her forehead. "No, not even Ichiro."

Sachi gave her a small smile. "W-well… ok then," she walked out of the room.

Sakura sighed before getting out of bed, stretching like a cat. She dressed quickly, imagining Sasuke's surprise when he sees her in her 'work' outfit.

* * *

She sat up, before calmly walking over to her dresser, her pose betraying all the anxiety she felt inside. She yawned, before letting her silver robe slide down her shoulders, holding it up by one hand near her collarbone.

Somebody coughed.

She looked around, before screaming. "EIIIII! SHIKA-KUN! YOU PERV!"

The lazy shinobi sitting in her chair chuckled softly. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

Her face turned red. "NARA SHIKAMARU!" she screamed, darting forward before catching his vest on one hand. In less then a second, Shikamaru found himself falling down three stories. Ino dusted the (nonexistent) dust off her robe, smiling as she heard a small thump that meant he had hit the ground. "YOU'RE LUCKY I DIDN'T BREAK ANYTHING!"

Shikamaru groaned from his place on the ground. "And how do you know that?"

He could almost see her smirking, as he heard her call out, "CUZ I WAS GOING EASY ON YOU!"

* * *

He groaned. "Neji! How long does it take? Why aren't the girls here yet?"

He stared. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because!" he snorted. "Your hair is long, so you must act like them when you're getting ready! Your hair is longer then Sakura-Chan's! How do you still manage to look like a man when you have hair that long? I mean, it's so girly-"

In less than three seconds, Naruto was knocked out and stuffed in a bag.

"Ah," the third man said. "Finally, the dobe is quiet!"

And finally, the last man chuckled quietly. "It's almost _too_ quiet now; I guess you get used to the noise."

Sasuke groaned. "Not for me, if I could, I would knock him out everyday, just to get some peace and quiet."

"OY! SASUKE-TEME! IT'S ILLEGAL TO KNOCK OUT THE HOKAGE! WHAT IF I WAS GAARA, I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU ALL BY NOW-"

Neji rubbed his temples. "But you're _not_ Gaara, so it's a moot point."

"WELL, WELL, UM, WELL NEVERMIND! THIS MEANS NOTHING! I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED AND PUNISHED, AND THEN YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY, OH YES, YOU _WILL_ REGRET IT! IN FACT-"

Shikamaru sighed. "It's times like this that I forget why I recommended him to be the Hokage. What was I thinking?"

Sasuke snorted. "You probably weren't."

* * *

Tenten stretched, cracking her back. "Ok guys, I think we kept the boys waiting long enough…"

"Y-yeah, we should probably g-get going…" Hinata yawned, picking up her Konoha headband. She reached up to tie it around her neck like she normally does, but forgot about Naruto's gift…

"OHMYGAWD, PIG! LOOK, NARU-TARD FINALLY TIED THE KNOT!" Sakura shrieked, pointing at Hinata's necklace, then the engagement ring.

"HYUUGA HINATA! HE PROPOSED TO YOU AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?" Ino screeched.

"U-uh, w-well-"

"NARUTO LOVES HINATA-CHAN! NARUTO LOVES HINATA-CHAN!" Ino and Sakura chanted, dancing around in euphoria.

Tenten sighed. "I wish Neji would propose to _me_."

Sakura stopped dancing for a moment to answer Tenten, "Tenten, he thinks you hate him."

"…"

"You know, all that revenge-for-cheating stuff?"

"…"

"Neji-bastard? Ring any bells?"

"…"

"'Neji-I-hate-you-get-the-hell-away?"

"… Oh, right, that."

"WE HAVE A GENIUS HERE!" Sakura hollered, clapping.

Tenten huffed. "Gawd, sorry! Short term memory loss here?" she pointed to her head.

Ino laughed. "Nice try Ten-chan."

"Hey, guys?" Sakura said. "What the hell is _that_?!" she pointed towards Karin. "TENTEN! CLOWN DOWN! FIRST FLOOR, PASSED OUT ON THE CARPET! TAKE CARE OF IT!"

"… I'm in the room you know, I can see the clown."

Sakura sighed. "Just take care of it Ten-chan."

Tenten grinned. "With pleasure."

* * *

"Guys, it's been an hour and a half. So how long does it take?" Naruto complained.

"This is troublesome.

"Shut up dobe, stop being so impatient."

"Actually, I think you all are acting like a bunch of children," Neji sniffed.

"Yeah, including you," Shikamaru muttered.

"In fact, I would wonder what- Hey, the girls are here!" Neji said. He had his Byakuugan on and was pointing in the direction of the girls' house. "I think the kids are with them too!"

* * *

"Kaa-san, let us come!" Sachi begged, tears running down her face. "I need to go! Our birthday is coming up in two weeks, and they _can't_ miss their birthday! I'm NOT, I'm _NOT_ a weak little girl anymore, I can take care of myself!" she stomped her foot.

Sakura sighed, sensing how important this was to her daughter. "I told you already, it doesn't matter how strong you are, you are _not_ ready to be a Kunoichi! You should wait till you're older, I mean you could get hurt! You could get _killed!_"

"ITACHI-NII WAS A SHINOBI WHEN HE WAS MY AGE!"

"That might be, but you aren't Itachi! I'm sorry, you can't go."

Sachi looked at Hana and Akira, who were pleading with Tenten and Ino. "Fine. We _won't _go," Sachi huffed, stomping her foot and crying. She motioned to Hana and Akira, and they dejectedly walked back to the compound.

"I feel bad now…" Sakura sighed.

* * *

"We aren't seriously giving up, are we?" Akira asked.

Hana laughed. "Of course not!"

* * *

"NARUTO! IF YOU HURT OUR HINA-CHAN I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU, KYUUBI AND HOKAGE BE DAMNED!" they had arrived at the clearing the boys were in, and Sakura was yelling at Naruto about marrying Hinata.

"YOU PROPOSED TO HINATA-SAMA?" Neji bellowed.

"Great Sakura-chan! Look what you did! Now he's gonna gang up with Gaara and they'll kill me in my sleep and I'll die and you will be sorry you mentioned it!!"

"I can't believe the dobe got married before us!" Sasuke muttered to Shikamaru.

"Marriage is troublesome."

"HINATA-SAMA, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!"

She put her hands on her hips. "I c-can wear whatever I w-want too!"

Neji glared at Ino and Sakura, sure that they had put Hinata up to wearing that. Because sweet, darling Hinata was wearing a midnight-blue low-cut, v-neck shirt with fishnet across the v-neck and fishnet sleeves. She was also wearing a black mini, and the dark blue ninja shoes she normally wore. On her neck, the necklace was covered by her headband, and she wore the ring and the sapphire studs.

"I-I know what y-you're thinking, but I WANTED to w-wear this!" she stuttered at Neji.

He spun around, glaring at Tenten. "What did you_ do_ to her? I mean, Hinata-sama is…" he lost his train of thought as he took in what Tenten was wearing. She had on a black Chinese-style shirt, with gold ringing the sleeves and the collar. There were two gold dragons snaking around her waist, and she also had black pants with gold designs on them.

Sakura had on a red spaghetti-strap tank top with a fishnet shirt over that. She had her black forehead-protector on as a headband as usual, and wore black gloves on her hands. She also had on a black mini, and low black ninja heels.

Ino had on a similar outfit, a purple tank top covered with a fishnet shirt, and a black mini. She had on the same black heels, and her hair was newly highlighted in purple.

"What are you wearing?" Sasuke spluttered out.

Sakura scoffed. "These? This is our work outfit!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Oh come _on!_ We had to get money when we were away! So we were bounty hunters, and this is our special uniform!" she motioned towards her friends. "You know, we're recognized as great bounty hunters all across Sand and Rain!"

"Hinata-sama, you're in a gang?!" that was too much. And so, the great Hyuuga Neji fainted into the waiting arms of Tenten, who happily dropped him and went on her merry way.

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR NAPS NEJI!" Naruto shouted, dragging poor Neji along the road.

* * *

**XxX**

**And the journey to Oto starts!**

**Thx to cherrysakura12345, StreetRacerSakura, Deyanira-chan, and XxFlyleaf.FanxX for reviewing!**

**R&R!**

**-SnowAngel**


	12. My Earth

**…**

**I just read the new manga chapter that came out…**

**Where Sasuke had to… bite… Karin's arm… in order to survive…**

**I am now… let's just say I'm mentally scarred now…**

**(Shivers)**

**Never Again.**

**Ever.**

**OHMYGAWD, I JUST BOUGHT BREAKING DAWN!**

**(Insert extremely loud shriek of happiness)**

**I FINISHED IT IN SEVEN HOURS, IT WAS SO GOOD!**

**(If you are a girl that likes vampires, I recommend the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer)**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: My Earth

"Hurry up, un!" Deidara shouted, skipping around in circles in front of the gate of Konoha, a good thirty yards ahead of Naruto.

"I'm working on it!" Naruto screamed back, dragging Neji by the foot with him. Said captive then hit his head on an (extraordinarily sharp) rock and woke up.

"THE HELL? LET GO OF ME YOU ASS!" Neji shrieked, sitting on the ground rubbing his head.

Naruto stomped off after Deidara, muttering about 'ungrateful he-bitches' and 'stupid, girly, long haired assholes.'

"Ex-_cuse_ me? Did you just _diss_ my _hair_?"

"YOU BET I DID!"

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Neji, PUT. THE KNIFE. DOWN!"

"GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME YOU COWARD!"

"Foolish little brother, go tell your foolish friend to stop it. For emotions make you WEAK! You must learn to live without emotions, or you will NEVER defeat me, and you will NEVER get a girl, because you will be so WEAK! Therefore, you must LIVE WITHOUT EMOTIONS, or risk being WEAK forever and ever and-"

"SASUKE, TELL YOUR STUPID CLONE-BROTHER TO SHUT UP!"

"HE IS NOT MY CLONE!"

"NARUTO, GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR SCRAWNY LITTLE ASS-"

Tenten sighed, before walking back towards Neji. "Let it go Neji, let it go."

"EXPECT AN ATTACK WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT NARUTO!" Neji huffed and walked off.

Sakura turned to Tenten. "Wow, you rock Ten-chan! He's like your slave!"

Tenten puffed her chest out. "Damn straight."

* * *

"So, are you guys ready to go yet?"

"Hold on, I just have to go get some shuriken. I'm sure kaa-san won't mind me taking some of hers…" Sachi ran off into Sakura's room, leaving Akira and Hana in the living room.

"How long do you thing it'll take?"

Hana sighed. "I'm betting on ten minutes."

They laughed together, before a shriek cut through their merriment.

"IIE! AKIRA, GET UP HERE! YAMANAKA HANAKO, GET YOUR ASS UP HERE **NOW**!!"

* * *

"Okay people," Shikamaru yawned. He was telling the others of his plan, and right after that, they would leave. Everyone else had come to see them off already, except Lee wouldn't leave them alone. "It takes two days to get from Konoha to Oto. So we're gonna be taking a pit stop for a couple of hours, just so we can recuperate for the long journey ahead. In fact, Lee tells me that the place we're going to is your favorite restaurant!"

"Oh yes! This restaurant is indeed Neji-kun's favorite! In fact, our youthful Neji-kun loved the food there so much that he-"

"Erm, yes, that's nice… uh… what's your name again?" Kisame said, scratching his head.

"Do not worry Kisame-san, for I am the youthful Green Beast of Konoha, Rock Lee! Student to Maito Gai, strongest sensei in Konoha! Teammates with Neji-kun and Tenten-chan! And, of course, I am in love with the ever so youthful Cherry Blossom of Konoha-"

Sasuke coughed. "I think he gets the idea Lee." _'Who knows, his brain might explode from all the confusion.'_

"Wait, you mean Sakura-chan? What? You and him?!" Deidara shouted, pointing from Lee to Sakura. Inwardly, he felt himself getting a headache from all the stress. "That is _so_ not right, yeah."

"I am sorry to tell you that I disagree! Sakura-chan and I are a match made in heaven!"

Sasuke growled, while Itachi allowed a small smirk to cross his otherwise emotionless face. _'It seems my brother has a liking for Sakura-hime…'_ "Really? Because last I checked, Princess over here was pining over my foolish little-"

"UCHIHA ITACHI, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Sakura growled.

"Aiee, it's Godzilla, yeah!" Deidara shrieked, running around.

"…Who's Godzilla?"

"I dunno, why are you asking me, un?"

Tenten huffed. "You're the one that mentioned it!"

"Danna! Tell her too stop it!" Deidara whined.

"…"

"Jeez, you're no help."

"Oh yeah, you _still _haven't told us why you call him that!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You're not- you know…" Shikamaru motioned towards Sasori and Deidara.

"_Ew_, no, why would I be, you know, to an egotistical, maniacal bastard that has no conception of what true art is?"

"It is you that doesn't know what true art is. Art is creation that can withstand the test of time; it is everlasting perfection."

"Hell no! Art is a single, fleeting moment of beauty! Nothing is perfect, so true art is just the closest you can get!"

Sasori rolled his eyes. "I don't even know why I'm having this conversation with a brat like you."

"Ex_-cuse_ me?!"

"Um," Neji coughed. "Back to telling us why he calls you 'danna?'"

Sasori sighed. "I am sorry to say that our friend Deidara has a little mental issue in which he-"

"MENTAL ISSUE MY ASS, YEAH!"

Sasori patted Deidara's head in a pitying manner.

"Oi, I am NOT you freaking DOG, yeah!"

Ino sighed. "And I thought they were finally over that…"

* * *

"What is it? You _never _call me Hanako!" Hana puffed. Running up three flights of stairs is a lot harder then it looks.

"Look at this." Sachi whispered. "I found it in my kaa-san's Kunoichi stash."

It was a diary, dated five years ago. A _baby_ diary. They took a look at the first entry.

_Today, Ino-pig gave birth. I already have three beautiful babies, and with the help of my friends, I settled on the name Ichiro (First son) for the oldest, Daisuke (Great helper) for my next son, and Sachiko (Happy child) for my one and only daughter. Ichiro is older than Daisuke by five minutes, and Daisuke's Sachi's elder by fifteen._

_Ten-chan has twins, Akira (bright dawn) and Katsuro (Victorious son) Akira is actually older than Katsuro by a few minutes, but he acts way more mature than she does._

_And finally, Hina-chan has a beautiful baby boy that looks just like his father. I think it broke Hina-chan's heart a bit, but she got over it and loves Hiro lots. It's really cute to watch her with him._

_Anyways, back to Ino-pig. She had twins, identical twins. She named the first-born Hanako, after the flowers she loves so much, and she named Hana's baby bro Sora, because he reminds her of the sky. Hana and Sora, her earth and her sky. It's pretty ironic. Sora, from what I can see, has dark brown- almost black- eyes, and light blonde hair just a shade darker than Ino-pig's. Hana has the exact opposite, she inherited her mother's eyes and her father's hair color. Anyways, I gotta go now, Pig's getting all PMS-ey again._

_Ja- Sakura_

"OHOHOHOHO! KATSURO'S GONNA GET IT NOW! WE ALWAYS ASSUMED HE WAS OLDER, BUT NO-O-O! I AM THE OLDER ONE! YOU WATCH, WHEN WE GET HIM BACK I AM GONNA BITCH AND NAG AND PISS HIM OFF _SO _MUCH-" Sachi shot Akira a stern look. Needless to say, Akira shut up.

Bewildered, Hana turned to Sachi. "B-But… I don't have a brother! I'm an only child!

Sachi gave a grave nod. Together, they read the rest of the book, which included pictures of Ino holding two identical babies. Finally, they got to the last entry. It was dated a few months Hana had turned three. It was spotted with tear stains, and crossed out words marred the page.

_I can't believe it, b-baby Sora was stolen by that b-bastard Orochimaru! All I did was go into the house t-to go get some food for them, and when I came back Kabuto was holding Hana, and Orochimaru had Sora! I managed to get Hana back, but Orochimaru was gone, and he had taken Sora with him. I just can't believe my baby boy is g- (here a large tear stain blotted out some of the words)_

_I WILL avenge my Sora. I don't know if I could stand not avenging him. It's like losing half of my world…_

_-Ino_

On this page, a small, pressed daisy was seen.

"I-I don't believe it… NO! I can't have a brother! I can't!" Hana shrieked. She threw herself into Akira's arms, sobbing.

"Shh, it's ok," Akira whispered. "We'll get Sora back."

"H-how do you know he's alive," Hana rasped. "He was stolen two y-years ago, anything could have happened."

"Don't worry Hana-chan," Sachi said, rubbing Hana's back.

"You know what? You're r-right. Before, I wanted to go to Orochimaru's because he had my friends slash my best friend's brothers, but now…" she stood up, wiping the tears from her face. "Now, it's _personal._"

* * *

"Someone wanna tell me where you're taking me?" Neji snarled, a blindfold covering his eyes.

"No. Lee said it had to be a surprise."

Tenten groaned. "I'm just glad we finally got rid of the guy. I mean, I know he's one of my best friends and all, but after he talks to me, I feel like I need a nap."

"I agree, un. That guy is crazy, yeah. You agree with me, don't you Sasori-danna?"

Said person groaned. "Don't drag me into this."

"Okay! We're he-ere!" Sakura trilled.

"H-Here Nii-san…" Neji felt Hinata lead him to a chair. He sat down, before reaching for the blind fold.

"Not yet Neji-kun!" Ino sang.

"Yeah, we have to serve food first! Would you like some Hinata-chan?" Naruto said, making Hinata blush.

"NOT FAIR! YOU CAN'T HAVE FAVORITES!"

Deidara snorted. "Sharky's just mad that there's no sake here, yeah."

"DON'T CALL ME SHARKY! I AM A _VICIOUS_, _**MAN-EATING**_ BEAST-"

"Tch, in your dreams."

"Itachi, your brother's being mean!"

"Hn."

"Damn Uchiha's and their inability to help others."

"Okay peoples! You can eat now!" Ino said. "Dig in!"

Neji reached up to untie his bandana. As the cloth fell to the floor…

Neji stared at the food. The steaming, spicy, bright red food. Neji stared at the food that haunted his nightmares. His face turned bright red, and after releasing a (rather girly) scream, he ran out of the room and started gagging.

Tenten turned to Sakura and Deidara. "Told you I knew he'd do that! Pay up."

They grudgingly handed over fifteen thousand yen each. Tenten giggled, and gave Naruto a high five.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Neji first tasted the Curry of Life?"

* * *

"Ssooo, are you ready to cooperate yet?" Orochimaru hissed, staring at the boys.

"NO! WE'LL NEVER COOPERATE!" Hiro screamed.

"Fine. Kabuto-kun, don't send them any dinner. It seems they still need some 'motivation,'" Orochimaru stated coldly, before walking away.

Hiro sat down, sighing. "Day five in this miserable hellhole, without a cup of ramen in sight. Daisuke-teme's still being an ass, and Katsuro is going emo. The only partially sane one is me, because even the great Ichiro is having anger problems that he inherited from Aunty Sakura, and he gangs up with Daisuke so he can provoke me. Why does this always happen to me?" he moaned, pulling his hair. Lately, Hiro had taken to narrating what seemed like entries from a war prisoner's diary.

"Shut up," Daisuke muttered. He and his brother both had dark bruises under their eyes from lack of nourishment and sleep. Their skin was pale and nearly see-through, and both were unnaturally skinny. They had grown much closer in the four days they had spent in Orochimaru's 'hellhole,' as Hiro put it, then they had in all five years they had lived together. Ichiro had taken it upon himself to keep Daisuke out of danger, and even though he was only older by a few minutes he had a stronger emotional shield. Because of that, he gave the other kids bits of his food, and he tried to keep Orochimaru and Kabuto away from them. He didn't like the way Orochimaru was eyeing his brother, either.

Hiro had a lot of stamina, so he could go without food or sleep longer than any of them. His naturally cheery outlook of things made him have a lighter attitude about his imprisonment than the others, and quite frankly, it was pissing Daisuke off.

Katsuro was taking it the worst, because the only ones of the group he had been particularly emotionally attached to was Tenten and Akira, and he was forever worrying something was going to happen to them. His cheekbones stood out from his face in a sickly way, and he never really slept anymore. He was steadily becoming depressed, and barely talked to anyone.

"Make me shut up," Hiro retorted. He kept trying to egg Daisuke into fights, because he was becoming worried for the unresponsive person his rival had become.

Unfortunately, Daisuke just turned away and went to go sit by his brother.

Tk.

Tk.

Tk.

Katsuro glanced up. "Someone's coming."

But it was only Kabuto. So he glanced back down, staring listlessly at the floor.

"I brought you a visitor," Kabuto smirked. He stepped aside to reveal a young boy about their age. His brown eyes glinted with amusement, while the rest of his face was emotionless. He had long blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail. Kabuto turned to face the boy. "You know what to do."

The boy nodded. Right after Kabuto left, he smirked at the boys. "Orochimaru-sama told me I could do whatever I want with you as part of the interrogation," he turned to Katsuro. "Hmmm, you look especially tough. So I guess you'll be my first victim." Then, he drew his fist back, and three snakes burst out, aiming for Katsuro's neck.

* * *

**XxX**

**So, there it is. Sorry for not updating for a long time, I was really busy and stuff. And sorry that sounded so lame, too.**

**I'm not sure when this story will end, if you didn't already notice, I've just been making things up as I go along. I don't have an actual plan for this story. It just flows along.**

**Also, I wanna thank all my reviewers, when I wrote this I didn't expect even one review. Well, maybe one review, but not much more than that.**

**For another side note, you don't get credit for reviewing if you don't actually _review_. Sorry if that sounds mean or anything... Anonymous reviews are excepted, unless they are used to flame this story.**

**So yeah... Oh, and thanks to XxFlylead.FanxX and StreetRacerSakura for reviewing the last chapter.**

**R&R!**

**-Angel out**


	13. The Nameless One

**I think the story might be ending soon. I don't know… Cuz like I said, I never plan more than a few lines ahead.**

**-And here ends the unbelievably short authors note-**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 13: The Nameless One

"No Hinata-chan! Not the chainsaw!" she screa-

Whoops, wrong fic. Please ignore the author's obvious brain-damage and continue reading. Sorry for the interruption.

* * *

"NO! KATSURO!" Using his last bits of strength, Hiro threw himself in front of Katsuro, shielding him. The snake's fangs buried themselves in his neck and shoulder, and he fell to the floor, crying in pain.

Katsuro raised his head, showing more emotion on his face then he had in days. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"DO YOU THINK YOUR KAA-SAN AND AKIRA WANT YOU TO GIVE UP LIKE THAT? DO YOU THINK THEY WANT YOU TO DIE?" Hiro shouted back.

"LIFE'S NOT WORTH IT ANYMORE. I DON'T CARE IF I DIE!"

"LISTEN TO YOURSELF! HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR FAMILY WOULD FEEL IF THEY CAME TO RESCUE YOU ONLY TO FIND YOU _DEAD_?"

"I… I don't even know anymore," Katsuro mumbled, taking his head in his hands.

"OI! Sorry to interrupt your little _love-fest_, but I'm not done with you yet," their interrogator sneered.

"Why are you doing this?" Hiro said.

"It's my job. Now, do you want to tell me information about your special abilities? Or do I have to _beat it out of you_."

"Can you just get it through your thick skull that we'll never tell you anything?"

"Fine then," he answered cruelly. "I guess I shall have to report to Orochimaru-sama about the, ah, _unpleasant_ change of events. But next time, I'm gonna slice up your pretty little face," he sneered at Katsuro. "Wouldn't want your mommy to see you all cut up would you?"

In answer, Daisuke flipped him the bird.

"Very well then. Good day," the boy flipped his blonde hair over his shoulder and stalked off.

"Fag."

* * *

"Okay guys, I'm gonna hit the sack," Naruto yawned. "You coming Hinata-chan?"

She blushed, still not used to her status as his wife. "H-Hai. I'm coming."

They walked to their tent, waving good night to their friends.

"Someone's getting lucky tonight!" Kisame hooted.

"Shut up baka. And besides, even if Naruto-kun and Hina-chan do, you know, (insert cough here) just remember, it's not _you_ who's getting lucky," Sakura smirked.

"Pinky, that was mean! Great, you ruined my fun. I'm going to bed," Kisame huffed, stalking off.

"Us too, yeah. Can't ever get enough rest!" Deidara dragged an indifferent Sasori to the tent they were sharing.

Shikamaru got up. "Can't disagree with that!"

This left Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, and Itachi in the circle.

"Wanna tell ghost stories?" Sakura suggested, smiling creepily while holding a torch under her face.

"No," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Fun-sucker," Ino muttered.

"Brat," he shot back.

"Why don't we play _Knock the Sasuke out and Torture Him_?" Ino glared.

Itachi stood up. "Sounds like a plan!"

"Hey, wait, guys-"

Let's just say Sasuke never got around to finishing that sentence.

"Ha-ha, this is fun!"

* * *

-The Next Morning-

Deidara woke up feeling warm. _Unnaturally_ warm. He shifted around, before noticing his arm was asleep. Blinking groggily, he tried to shake it, but something stopped it from moving. As his vision came into focus, he saw his face was inches away from

"KYAAAA!! INO-CHAN, I WAS RIGHT! SASORI-DANNA IS GAY! ONE-HUNDRED PER-CENT G-A-Y! HELP! RA-" he stopped when he felt someone sock him in the face.

"Stop yelling."

"Ow, Danna!" he reached up to touch his bloody nose. Then, he remembered why he was yelling in the first place. "What the hell was that? What are you doing?" he stopped, blushing.

Sasori looked around, to see that his arm was slung over Deidara's waist and that Deidara's other hand was trapped under his body. He sweat-dropped, anime-style. "Well, this is awkward…"

"…"

"Well, since you aren't moving, I take it to mean that you like it?" he teased.

Nobody had ever seen Deidara run away faster then he did that morning.

* * *

Tenten sighed, leaning against Neji with her back against his chest. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and his chin was resting against her head. "This is what you get for getting used to Gai-sensei forcing you to wake up at five A.M." she groaned.

Neji chuckled. "At least it gives you some time to enjoy the scenery."

Gently, he took her hand and pointed it up towards the sky. "See, there are the birds," she looked at a family of Blue Jays, flying together. "and the wildlife," he guided her hand to point at a chrysanthemum flower, dew sliding off its petals. "and last but not least, the animals," and then he pointed to a snow white kitten with a black diamond on its forehead. It was romping around, chasing the birds.

Tenten sighed happily. "You forgot to mention the egotistical Hyuuga-jerk in the background."

She turned around to see Neji's face fall slightly.

"But then again, I'm partial to jerks," she breathed, her breath ghosting over his cheeks. And then she kissed him, kissed him like she'd never kissed him before. Her tongue pushed softly against his lips, and he opened them at once. It slid over his teeth and his tongue, and he groaned, taking her taste of chocolate and mint. Then, as soon as it began, it ended.

"Is this your way of saying 'I accept your apology?" he breathed out.

"I don't know, is it?" she teased.

Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by a bunch of wolf-whistles. The blushing couple turned around to see Naruto, Deidara, Ino and Sakura watching them.

Since Tenten was glaring at him in a way that promised a painful injury, Deidara did the first thing that came to mind. He slapped a hand over Naruto's mouth and pointed at him, yelling "SEE NARUTO I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" while still staring at Tenten and Neji with wide eyes.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "I know you were doing it Dei. Don't blame Naruto just because he's an idiot."

He sweat-dropped. Just then, Naruto gagged.

"MPH! GE' THAH THIN' WAY FROM 'E!" he screamed, clawing at Deidara's hand, which was still covering his mouth. Once he was free of it, he started wiping his hands on his tongue, choking, and spitting. "EEWWWW! YOUR HAND LICKED ME!"

Nonplussed, Deidara looked at the mouths on his hands. "I guess it did, yeah."

Naruto's jaw dropped to the ground. "I get emotional scarring by YOUR hands (literally) and all you can say is I GUESS SO?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

Deidara shrugged. "Didn't bother me when the police said it, doesn't bother me when you say it."

* * *

"Ugh," Sachi said, brushing leaves off her shirt. "Last night was a total mess."

They had traveled as fast as they can, and had managed to catch up to their moms, give or take a few miles. They had just arrived at their campsite, in which the remains of a fire told them they were on the right track.

"Look what I found!" Akira squealed, holding up a white cat with a black diamond on its forehead.

"Awww! Kawaii!" Sachi and Hana ran forward, petting and snuggling the kitty.

"Hey there," Sachi cooed. "I'm gonna name you Skippy."

"Let's name it Franken-Kitty!" Akira cackled.

"No! I'm not letting you name Skippy that!"

Hana sighed. "Guys, I'm all for keeping the cat, but we really should get going so we can rescue the guys."

Sachi sighed back. "Fine. But I'm coming back for you Skippy!"

Just then, a Sound ninja burst in through the trees.

"Well well, what do we have here? And here I thought that patrolling the borders was a _boring_ job. Looks like Oto just gained three prisoners!"

Sachi groaned. "Great. Just what we needed." She activated the sharingan and Akira activated Byakuugan. "Honestly, I'm getting bored of the whole bad-guy-tries-to-kill-seemingly-innocent-five-year-olds-but-get-beaten-up routine. Let's just get it over with."

Akira sighed. "Right."

With that as the last word, she launched herself towards the ninja, still holding 'Franken-Kitty.' But just as she was about to knock the ninja out via pressure point, 'Franken-Kitty' poked her head out from her jacket.

"What is this? The girl has a pet," the Sound-nin laughed mockingly.

A couple of seconds after he said that, 'Skippy/Franken-Kitty' yawned, and her fangs elongated by a couple of inches. She reached out, and tore a hole in the man's chest. As he slumped over, dead, the girls watched as 'Skippy's' fangs returned to normal and she took a nap in Akira's jacket pocket.

Hana rubbed her head. "Didn't see that coming."

Sachi squealed. "Awww! Skippy is a nin-kitty! Now we HAVE to keep him!"

"Hellz yea! Skippy one kick-ass ninja-kitty!"

"AHA! NOW HIS NAME IS SKIPPY! PERMANENTLY!"

"Hey, that's not fair Sachi-chan!"

She snickered. "_Life_ isn't fair Kira-chan."

* * *

"We need someone to get some water," Sakura sighed, wiping her forehead. They were now only a few hours away from Oto, and were estimating to reach it by nightfall.

Itachi looked from Sasuke to Sakura, before raising his hand. "I'll, uh, go get the water, and, erm… Sasuke can come with me!" he dragged a protesting Sasuke off into the woods.

Once they were safely away from the gang and next to a river, Itachi stopped and snickered. "Wow Sasuke, nice hair."

After being dragged through numerous shrubs and bushes, Sasuke now had a collection of leaves, twigs, and hedgehogs in his hair.

Itachi pointed to Sasuke's head again. "Is that a hedgehog I see?" Said hedgehog jumped out of Sasuke's hair, before disappearing behind a bush. Itachi sweat-dropped. "Er, right…"

"Why the hell did you drag me out here?"

Itachi whapped him on the forehead. "Language, brother." He was silent for a second, before turning to Sasuke with a look of absolute seriousness on his face. "What is she to you?"

"What are you talking about," Sasuke said coolly.

Itachi glared. "You know what I'm talking about. Now answer, _what is she to you_?"

Sasuke eyed Itachi. "She's the girl I'm in love with." He stalked off, carrying a flask full of water.

Itachi grinned, looking extremely un-Itachi like. _'Excellent. Now, plan Get-Stupid-Little-Brother-Together-With-Princess, commence!'_ He gave an evil-sounding laugh, thinking up schemes and plans like only Itachi can.

* * *

Sasuke stomped through the bushes, carrying the water.

"Jeez Teme, what crawled up your ass and died?"

Tenten spat out water onto Hinata, who glared lightly at her. She stripped off her jacket, leaving her in only shorts and a light camisole. Deidara, Kisame, and Naruto stared blatantly as she blushed. She stood up and went into her tent.

Naruto pouted. "Come back Hinata-chan! I'll make you some ramen!"

"Ok! Make it beef!"

Sasuke stared. "Where are you gonna get ramen?"

"Here, silly!" Naruto lugged his bag out from the tent.

"NARUTO! DID YOU EVEN PACK ANY CLOTHES?"

"Uh…" he sweat-dropped, "was I supposed too?"

"NARUTO-"

"KYAAAA! SAVE ME FROM SAKURA-CHAN, SOMEBODY HAVE MERCY!"

Ino looked around. Nobody was getting up to save Naruto. Big surprise there, innit? She sighed, and got Hinata some ramen. After using a small fire Jutsu to heat it up, she started walking towards Naruto and Hinata's tent.

"DO I SMELL RAMEN!" Naruto screamed; running back to the campsite with Sakura on his tail. "YEAH! RAMEN FTW!" he shouted, grabbing the cup of ramen Ino made for Hinata and making a dash for the tent.

"FTW?" Sasuke said questioningly.

"For the world, duh," Deidara smirked.

"Get with the times emo-boy!" Ino started laughing at him.

"Hn," he growled, stomping off to find Sakura.

When he got to her, he found her with Itachi.

"Aa?" _Why are you here?_

"Hn." _Same reason you are._

"Tch." _Bastard._

"Eh." _Well I think you're __**all**__ emo. Har har har!_

Itachi and Sasuke turned to Sakura.

"Aa?" _You speak it?_

"Hmph." _Two of my kids speak it! Of course I do!_

Sasuke and Itachi stared at her, then shrugged.

"Hn."

"HOLY MOTHER OF RAMEN! SAKURA CAN SPEAK UCHIHA-NESE!" Tenten shrieked.

"Oooooh," everyone 'oohed' and 'aahed.'

Sasuke stomped off. _He_ could speak it too! And he didn't see no one 'ooh-ing' over him!

"Tch." _That's Sasuke for ya!_

Then Sakura turned to Deidara.

"Hey, how did your nose get broken before?"

Deidara and Sasori looked at each other.

"Nothing, yeah."

"Deidara had a momentary lapse of control and punched himself in the face-"

"NOT TRUE! UNTRUE I SAY!"

"You just keep telling yourself that."

"Bastard."

* * *

Hana sighed. "Ok guys, we're a couple of hours away from Oto. I expect to get there by nightfall."

Sachi saluted. "Sir yes sir!"

Akira nodded solemnly. They were all serious now, since they were now only a few hours away from getting their brothers back.

Well, mostly serious anyways.

"Guys?"

"What."

"Skippy says he's hungry."

"WHAT? How do you know he's hungry?!"

"He talks, silly! Can't you hear him?"

Hana and Akira stared. "Uh, NO!"

"Liars! Look, I'll prove it too ya! Skippy, say hi!"

And then, the cat turned his head, opened him mouth, and…

Meowed.

Hana rolled her eyes. "The cat isn't saying anything!"

Skippy meowed again.

"He says he can only talk to me. You guys aren't cool enough," Sachi grinned.

"NOT FAIR! FRANKEN-KITTY WAS MINE ANYWAYS! HOW COME I DON'T GET TO UNDERSTAND HIM?"

"…Cuz your clan isn't one that has cats as its familiars."

"Tch. Stupid Haruno's and their stupid cat-hearing things."

* * *

"What's your name?"

"Uh, ex-_cuse_ me?"

"Are you deaf, or what? I asked what your name is!"

"…My name is Hiro. Hyuuga. Hyuuga Hiro."

"What about you?"

"Haruno Daisuke," he grumbled.

"Yeah, and that teme over there is Haruno Ichiro, and the _other_ teme is Katsuro, last name unknown!"

"…Last name unknown?"

Katsuro glared. "What's it to ya?"

"Hey, since we told you our names, what's yours?"

"I… I don't have a name," the boy's voice cracked slightly at the end of the sentence.

"Well, what about your family?"

"Orochimaru-sama took me in when I was a baby. I don't remember my family, I grew up here," he lied. Well, half lied. But it's not like he would tell the prisoners that. He still got the occasional dream of a faceless, nameless laughing blonde and a small, dark haired girl. But when he asked Orochimaru, he refused to tell him anything. So he learned to ignore it.

"Oh… You don't have a family?"

Sadly, the nameless boy shook his head. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. "Listen, you guys need to make it sound like I'm torturing you. I bet that's Kabuto, he's probably checking to see how I'm doing with you guys."

All the guys looked at each other, and since they didn't exactly _like_ the dorky medic-nin, they all began shouting half-hearted shouts.

"Make it sound more real!" The Nameless One hissed.

"Ahhh," Daisuke droned.

"Ow, my spleen," Hiro deadpanned.

Just then, Orochimaru came into the room. "Oh boys, there's someone here to see you."

* * *

**XxX**

**Sorry if it was dull, or bad, or dumb, or stuff. I'm having writers block. I planned out **_**everything**_** in the last chapter, but have no idea how I'm supposed to write up till then. Bear with me please!**

**Thanks to Deyanira-chan and StreetRacerSakura for reviewing chapter twelve.**

**They get giant cookies.**

**No more of that 'Add story to favorites but don't review' crap!**

**Serious! I need all the help I can get!**

**Please take five freaking seconds of your life and review! Or I shall sic Kisame on you!**

**(Sic'em boy!)**

**(Cue Jaws theme music)**

**Anyways, R&R!**

**-Angel Out!**


	14. The Battle at Oto

**You know, I've always been wondering who or what makes the noise Perry on Phineas and Ferb makes.**

**For some reason, I've been hooked on all these books about vampires and werewolves.**

**And now, my mom is calling me a vampire just cuz I don't like it when you roll the windows down in the car and the sun freaking blinds you. Hmph.**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 14: The Battle at Oto

"So… H-Here we are."

Sakura sighed. "Yeah… here we are."

Ino huffed. "Jeez Shika, aren't you supposed to have some sort of smart-ass genius plan?"

He shrugged. "I'm too lazy to do that. Besides, you didn't ask."

Ino face-palmed. "I would have thought it'll've been _apparent_ that we need SOME SORT OF PLAN FIRST! I MEAN, DID YOU JUST EXPECT US TO TURN UP ON OROCHIMARU'S DOORSTEP AND EXPECT HIM TO JUST HAND THEM OVER?"

He shrugged. "Something like that."

Ino looked like she was about to punch him, so he look around and slammed his head down onto the table, pretending to be asleep. Unfortunately, this earned him _three_new bumps on his head instead of one. Ino turned to Sakura. "I thought he was smarter than that!"

Sakura shrugged. "Men are illogical. I learned that when Sasuke-kun started crying after I ate all the frozen cookie dough he kept stashed in his-"

"I thought I said to never speak of that again?" Sasuke hissed.

But it was too late. Everyone in the group was laughing so hard it looked like they were gonna bust a gut. (With the exception of the 'sleeping' Shikamaru, and the socially inept Sasori, Itachi, and Neji, of course) And they only laughed harder when they saw Naruto scooting away from a red-faced Sasuke, a look of shock all over his face.

"Oh, this is _rich_. Pretty-boy likes cookie dough? And he started _crying_?" Kisame hooted with laughter.

"Uh, wait, I thought _Neji _was Pretty-boy!" Naruto said, scratching his head thoughtfully.

"Hmmm, well, Saku-chan was 'Ugly-slash-hag,' you were 'Dick-less,' and Sasuke-kun was, uh… 'EMO PRINCE!'" Ino shouted, clapping her hands with obvious pride at her accomplishment.

"I seem to remember _you _were 'Barbie,'" Sasuke hissed.

"Shut up Emo Prince," Ino said happily.

Meanwhile, Sasuke stomped off to regain the meager shreds of pride he had left.

"Sakura-hime, can you go get foolish otouto so we can go to Oto already?" Itachi said innocently. (In his point of view)

Sakura stared at him. "Er, right."

A few minutes later she came back with Sasuke, blushing furiously. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked rather pleased with himself.

Itachi chuckled. _'Ohohohoho! My plan is working! And yet another victory to the almighty UCHIHA ITACHI!'_

Of course, he thought nobody could hear him. Key word: thought.

He looked around to see everyone staring at him. When they noticed he saw them staring, they looked away and started whistling.

_'Was it something I said?'_

"Ok. Let's head to Oto," Sasuke said, after checking that his brother hadn't finally cracked.

"WE'LL GET HIRO BACK! DATTEBAYO!" Naruto charged off towards Oto.

* * *

"There it is. Everybody ready?"

"Hai."

"You betcha!"

"Alright! To the evil mobile!"

"…"

"Don'tcha mean 'to the evil Orochimaru hideout of evilness?"

"Meh, whatever."

"Skippy says 'Let's go!'"

"So, does everybody know the plan?"

"Hana, _everyone_ knows the plan. We're all ready."

"Ok. To Oto!"

* * *

"Look at me! I'm the Oh-So-Hot Uchiha Sasuke! I have a giant stick in my ass, and I must kill my Oh-So-Much-Hotter brother for REVENGE! I ran away so I could live with a pedophile that wants my body! And my hair looks like a chicken's ass!" Sakura danced, chanting that as she went along. She had henged into Sasuke on the way to Oto, cuz she figured they needed a laugh before 'all the angst shit came up and bit 'em in the ass.'

Sasuke reddened. "Stop making me look bad!"

"As you can see in the context above, _you_ make _yourself_ look so bad _I'm_ out of a job."

"…Hn."

* * *

"Well well, look who we have here."

"GIVE BACK HIRO OROCHIMARU! DATTEBAYO!"

Shikamaru sighed from the bushes in front of the hideout, surrounded by ten dead Sound-nin. "So much for the plan."

Ino looked around. Orochimaru was sitting on his creepy bone-chair-throne thing, and Kabuto was off to the left of that. She looked to the right. There was a young boy hidden in the shadows, and he actually managed to convey a look of boredom to the people watching him. His eyes were lidded slightly, and it looked like he would much rather be asleep then here.

_'Snap out of it Ino. It happened two years ago. There's no way it's him.'_

"KAA-SAN!" Daisuke screamed out. "AND YOU BROUGHT THE BASTARD-MAN TOO!"

Sasuke twitched a bit.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CHILD OROCHIMARU?" Tenten screamed, after seeing Katsuro. He still looked sickly, and it didn't make Tenten too happy.

Just then, three people burst in through another window.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Sakura screamed. "DO YOU WANNA GET KILLED?"

Orochimaru smirked. "Hello Sasuke-kun! Just the person I wanted to see."

"Isn't he like, sixty?" Sachi whispered to her mom.

Orochimaru then turned to Ino and Hana.

"Does he look familiar?" he chuckled, pointing to the small blonde child next to him. "Don't you remember who he is?"

"I don't k-know what you're t-talking about," Ino stammered.

"Don't try to fool me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. And," he turned to Hana, "I'm willing to bet that this is the weak little child we decided to leave behind. What do you say dear? Want to join your _dear_ brother?" he spat out mockingly.

The boy stepped out, an unreadable expression on his face. "You told me my family died."

"Well I lied, didn't I," he sneered.

"I'll never join you!" Hana shrilled.

"Very well. Kill her," Orochimaru motioned to the boy.

The boy paused. The memories were getting stronger, those pictures of that laughing, blue-eyed child. "I… I can't kill her," he stepped back, looking ashamed.

"What?" Orochimaru hissed. "Then I guess _you _are no longer of use to me as well. Kill them both, Kabuto-kun."

The medic-nin smirked, and raised a glowing fist. As he threw ran at the boy, Hana threw out all the caution, threw out all the carefully thought out plans, blocked the signals her brain sent her that said Stop! She blocked out everything, and threw herself in front of the boy.

Before anyone could do anything, it was too late.

* * *

**XxX**

**Uwa! Poor Hana-chan!**

**I'm gonna post the next chapter either today or tomorrow, cuz this was just sorta something that I wanted to be a separate chapter.**

**Thank you, erm... (pulls out list) chikkachoo, Deyanira-chan, ShamaLamaDingDong, and StreetRacer Sakura for reviewing!**

**You people are insanely awesome.**

**Please review! The story's gonna be over soon.**

**-Angel**


	15. Bye Bye

**There are only a few chapters left in this story, seriously.**

**Ok, the song for this chapter is Bye Bye by Maria Carey. You should listen too it while reading this, it gets you into the (Horribly depressing) mood.**

**This chapter is probably the most angst-ey, depressing thing I have ever written.**

**And because of that, I plead you to not stalk me with pitchforks and torches for being such a horrible author.**

**(Bows)**

**But I do give you permission to hit me over the head.**

**Wait, no, I was just joking-**

**(Gets hit on the head with a baseball bat)**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 15: Bye Bye

_This is for my peoples who have lost somebody,_

She retched and screamed as she felt her insides tearing themselves apart…

_Your best friend…_

"NO! HANA-CHAN!" Sachi screamed, tears streaming down her face.

_Your baby…_

"KABUTO! YOU BASTARD!" Ino rushed at him, putting as much chakra as she could into one punch…

_Your man or your lady…_

The punch hit his collarbone, and he gagged and coughed up blood as he felt his bones shattering and splintering apart…

_Put your hands way up high,_

"SHE WAS MY SISTER! I NEVER EVEN KNEW HER NAME!"

_Cuz we will never say… bye…_

"Don't die, please, don't die…"

_Mammas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends, and cousins…_

She smiled softly, coughing up blood, before reaching up to touch her brother's forehead.

_This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers…_

"Why did you save me?"

_Lift your hands to the sky,_

"I… I don't know."

_Cuz we will never say… bye…_

"KATSU!" Deidara screamed, laughing madly as the entire Sound village fell to the ground.

_Bye bye…_

Naruto was his own small army, mowing down the Sound shinobi that had escaped Deidara's attack.

_Bye bye…_

"Orochimaru!" Sasuke screamed, running towards him with Chidori.

_Bye bye…_

But it wasn't Orochimaru anymore, but a giant snake…

_Bye bye…_

And then Sasuke was gone, swallowed by the snake.

_Bye bye…_

And then it was over, the snake was dead. The Sound village was in ruins, the ninja overthrown.

_Bye bye…_

Sachi hugged the body of her best friend, crying into her hair…

_Bye bye…_

Kabuto was gone, just like his master, his body unrecognizable behind a cover of blood and splinters of bone…

_Bye bye…_

"NO!" Deidara screamed in grief, punching a wall, his fist a mess of torn skin and blood…

_Bye… bye._

Akira turned with murderous eyes to look at Sora.

_I never knew I could hurt like this…_

"You…" she rasped. "This is _your_ fault."

_And everyday life goes on like "I wish I could talk to you for awhile."_

And then she punched him, and he let her, because he felt he deserved it…

_Miss you but I try not to cry_

And he cried, for the first time in his life, cried for the sister he never had.

_As times goes by…_

Sakura ran to Ichiro and Daisuke, embracing them, sobbing over the happiness of being reunited and the pain of losing Hana, who was like a daughter to her…

_And it's true that you've reached a better place_

And as Akira cried, Katsuro comforted her, as only a brother can…

_Still I'd give the world to see your face…_

Ino was hugging Shikamaru, inconsolable…

_And I'm right here next to you_

And Sasuke, even Sasuke looked disturbed, as he turned away from the girls and furiously rubbed his eyes.

_But it's like you're gone too soon…_

"Sasuke-kun… You're crying…"

_Now the hardest thing to do is say bye bye…_

"No I'm not," he responded gruffly, pushing her away.

_Bye… Bye._

And as she sobbed silently, just when her heart had mended, Ino once again felt the pain of when a child leaves you. But this time, this time it was forever. And it was when she realized that that her grief took over and she no longer held conscious thought, slipping into unconsciousness to give her body time to heal from the injury of a broken heart.

* * *

**XxX**

**Angst, angst, angst!**

**I feel so bad…**

**This chapter made me cry.**

**Does that make me sound insane?**

**Waaahhhh!!**

**Poor Sora-kun…**

**Please review, for the sake of Deidara…**

**Poor guy.**

**Thanks to Deyanira-chan and StreetRacerSakura for reviewing!**

**Oh, and I wanted to show you this quote about Itachi by ObsidianSickle that I totally agree on.**

"**I seem to have lost capability of hating Itachi with a burning passionate hatred. Though I still hold him responsible for Sasuke's current behavior in the manga. You do not drill something like "Hate me, take revenge, do everything you can for power so you can kill me." into the head of an eight year old. Sheesh, he should know better than that."**

**I totally agree with that.**

**It holds too much truth to not agree.**

**-Angel-chan**


	16. All That I Wanted

**I'm really glad you think the last chapter added something to the story, cuz I wasn't sure how you people would take it… or maybe I'm just insane. Probably the latter.**

**You know, when you review (if you even bother to read this note) I want you to tell me how you felt when Sasuke left Konoha. Me, I was all like 'zomgwtf Sasuke you man-whore how dare yoo what kind of retard runs off to some pedophile Michael Jackson look-alike that wants your body Sasuke you're obviously not very bright plus their fashion sense stinks… I mean, you'll be stuck wearing a stupid bathrobe with a very non-manly purple bow! Go rot in hell for a couple of years then come out and party with the rest of us when you see sense!'**

**I already knew he would run away, but I'm still sorta pissed at him... AND NOW HE KILLED ITACHI! DIE SASUKE, DIE! (Stabs Sasuke doll)**

**So feel free to comment on how you felt! I just wanted to compare results…**

**StreetRacerSakura: Yeah, you rock in a big way.**

**Deyanira-chan: I guess that makes two of us…**

**Gaaraslvr77: Since you requested it, you will have a giant gift basket full of cookies arriving on your doorstep in exactly 5 minutes. Maybe. It's a possibility. Yeah. Probably not. But if there was some way to send cookies through computers, you'd have it **_**made**_**.**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 16: All That I Wanted

"And do you, Uzumaki Naruto, take this girl to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Hai." His answer was quiet and serious, in contrast to his usual loud attitude.

It was it. The day of the wedding. Everything was _perfect_. Naruto was up there in a handsome black tux, (Hinata absolutely _refused _to let him wear an orange one) and Hinata was wearing a gorgeous white dress that was tight around her middle and puffed at the bottom. Her veil was attacked to a silver tiara, and as she walked down the isle, she glowed with happiness.

Sasuke, as the best man, was standing by Naruto in a black tux, and Sakura, as the maid of honor, was wearing a silver strapless wraparound dress. Ino and Tenten were standing to the side in silver backless halter-dresses. Sachi held Hinata's train, while Akira followed as the flower girl with Katsuro as the ring-bearer. Everyone was here, Kakashi, Tsunade, Anko, Shizune, Gai, Kurenai, and everyone in the Konoha 12.

Weddings couldn't get much more perfect than this, right?

_Wrong._

Even though this should be a happy occasion, the void left by Hana was noticed by all. Ino's smile was pasted on, and you could tell she was trying hard to be happy so she could please her best friend. The happiness seemed strained, and underneath that was a thin undercurrent of grief.

The Akatsuki had left, and maybe it was for the better. Naruto tried to imagine a wedding with the Akatsuki there.

_**Enter Horrible-Thankfully-Not-Real-Dream-Sequence**_

"_**Damn you all to Jashin-sama!" Hidan screamed. "When this thing is over I'm going to have to sacrifice something!"**_

"_**TOBI IS A GOOD BOY! TOBI IS A GOOD BOY! YES HE IS! TOBI IS A VERY GOOD BOY!"**_

"_**SHUT UP TOBI, YEAH!" Deidara screamed as he chucked a chair at poor Tobi.**_

"_**I suppose one of my foolish brother's friends shall be getting married next… Kami forbid Sasuke's wedding will be next."**_

"_**DAMN STRAIGHT! She has the emotional range of a freaking teaspoon!"**_

"…_**My BROTHER Sasuke does indeed lack the charm to get a girl."**_

"_**HELL YEAH- Say what? It's a he?"**_

"_**Do you think I can sell this for anything?" Kakuzu held up the gift basket.**_

"_**I NEED SAKE!" Kisame chanted with Tsunade.**_

"_**Suck it up, you pansy, un!"**_

"_**Whatever. At least I'm not a freaking transvestite, you girl!"**_

"_**I'M NOT A TRANSVESTITE, YEAH!"**_

"_**Could've fooled me!"**_

"_**DO NOT THROW CHAIRS AT TOBI, PLEASE! TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!"**_

"_**DAMMIT, YOU HEATHENS! I'LL SACRIFICE YOU ALL!"**_

"_**I say we eat that blonde kid…" Zetsu's black half said, staring at Naruto.**_

"_**He might give us indigestion…" the white half suggested meekly.**_

"_**OMG! CAKE, UN!"**_

"_**Deidara, that's the wedding cake. You aren't allowed to eat it."**_

"_**You just want it all for yourself Danna."**_

"_**DID YOU HEAR THAT? THE TRANSVESTITE WANTS CAKE!"**_

"_**SHUT IT FISHY!"**_

"_**I'M NOT A FISH! I'M A FREAKING SHARK, DAMN YOU!"**_

_**End Horrible-But-Thankfully-Not-Real-Dream Sequence**_

Naruto shuddered. Yes, it was definitely good the Akatsuki had left beforehand. He snapped out of it in time to hear the man say

"You may kiss the bride."

As they kissed, Hinata started blushing, and her color rose from pink to a maroon color.

'_Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint!'_her eyes started to roll backwards, and luckily Naruto stopped the kiss before she could keel over.

Ino whistled lowly as Hinata righted herself.

"I-I wanted to t-thank you all f-for coming here today, with special t-thanks to Neji-nii for letting me b-borrow his tiara-"

Everyone turned around to stare at a blushing Neji. He cowered behind Tenten and sank into his chair.

"I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE GAY, YOU GIRLY, FAGGISH, HE-BITCH!" Hanabi screeched from the crowd.

"I'm not gay, you stupid, idiotic girl," he muttered.

"YOU WISH GIRLY-MAN! YOU FREAKING WISH!"

Yes, Neji and Hanabi had always had a sort of... insult thing going on.

Hinata coughed. "Thank you Hanabi. Anyways, I just w-wanted to s-say," the blood was slowly rushing to her face… "I just wanted to s-say THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR COMING BYE!" she shouted, rushing off stage, her face bright red.

"YEAH! START THE POST-MARITIAL KARAOKE!" Naruto shouted. "I VOTE SASUKE-TEME UP FIRST!" he pushed Sasuke up onto the stage.

"Okay, up first is… Sa… su… kay?" the announcer read off a piece of paper. "Alright, Sa Su Kay, you'll be singing Numb by Linkin Park."

"What's a Linkin Park?" Tenten muttered to Sakura.

She shrugged. "Who cares? Sasuke's gonna sing!"

"Er, right…" Sasuke grunted, taking the piece of paper that had the words to the song on it.

"CUE THE MUSIC!" the announcer hollered.

"Er… I've… become… so numb… I can't feel you there… blah blah blah… Can't you see that you're smothering me… holding… too tightly… afraid... to lose... control…" Sasuke muttered in an unenthusiastic, deadpan voice that screamed 'GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!'

'_What kind of weirdo would write a song like this?'_

'_**What, besides you, you mean?' **_his inner said sarcastically.

"Ah, screw it," he stomped off the stage, shredding the poor paper as he went along.

"Er, that was… interesting… Let's see what the judges have to say," the announcer said.

Of course, the judges just happened to be Team Hebi.

Suigetsu held up a zero. "Pitiful attempt Sasuke. Try harder next time!" he shouted, clutching his (bleeding) ears.

Sasuke twitched.

"Ano... three," Juugo said softly. "Next time, try to vocalize instead of muttering the words. You might want to take the death glare off your face too…"

Sasuke reached towards a cake knife, before pulling his arm back, then reaching for the knife again.

"TEN! TEN, SASUKE-KUN!" Karin shrieked. "THAT WAS THE BEST SINGING I'VE EVER HEARD!"

Sasuke took the cake knife, looking at it as though contemplating killing himself with it.

Upon hearing this, Suigetsu flipped her the bird. "Are you deaf woman? That has got to be the _worst_-" he stopped when he noticed the cake knife heading towards him. "Gawd Sasu-chan, don't have to be so _violent_."

"Hn."

* * *

"I wanted to stay for the wedding! I bet you they'd have free sake!"

"S'not worth it… yeah," Deidara mumbled. He was in his room, staring gloomily at the statue he made of a small girl, laughing. Engraved on the bottom of the statue was

_Yamanaka Hanako: April 16, 1995 - March 10, 2001._

_Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, but keep your eye on the present._

"Deidara, you cannot linger upon this forever," Itachi commented softly. "You're gonna have to move on sometimes…"

"Yeah! So suck it up and move along! You know, get on with your miserable life."

Itachi glared. Sometimes Kisame's tough-luck way of dealing with things was not appreciated. Deidara looked even worse off now.

"I'm sure you'll move on…" Kisame patted the statue's head.

BING BADA BANG!

The statue blew up.

"KISAME YOU (censored) BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL! YOU JUST WENT AND (censored) BROKE MY STATUE OF HANA-CHAN! I'M GONNA FREAKING KILL YOU, YOU HEATHEN! STUPID FREAKING HE-BITCH! GO ROT IN HELL, DAMMIT! YOU KNOW MY CLAY EXPLODES, YEAH, SO WHY THE (censored) DID YOU GO AND PAT IT'S (censored) HEAD! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY AS DUMB AS YOU LOOK, YEAH? NOW IT'S RUINED AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO (censored) START OVER! (mutters inappropriate swear words)" Deidara shrieked, before starting to sob, clutching the pieces of his statue.

"I'll, uh, be leaving now…" Kisame sweat-dropped before tip-toeing out of the room.

"Poor Deidara…" Konan muttered.

"I know! That bastard owes me money! I hope he knows that just cuz he's contemplating death doesn't mean he doesn't owe me!" Kakuzu huffed.

"Pein, the guys want to go to Itachi-san's brother's friend's wedding. The Kyuubi kid, you know? The 6th Hokage," Konan said.

Pein thought about it.

_**Enter Akatsuki Thought Sequence**_

"_**Damn you all to Jashin-sama!" Hidan screamed. "When this thing is over I'm going to have to sacrifice something! Like Tobi!"**_

"_**TOBI IS A GOOD BOY! TOBI IS A GOOD BOY! YES HE IS! NO NEED TO SACRIFICE!"**_

"_**SHUT UP TOBI, YEAH!" Deidara screeched as he chucked a chair at poor Tobi.**_

"_**I suppose one of my foolish brother's friends shall be getting married next… Kami forbid Sasuke's wedding will be next."**_

"_**DAMN STRAIGHT! She has the emotional range of a freaking teaspoon!"**_

"…_**My BROTHER Sasuke does indeed lack the charm to get a girl."**_

"_**HELL YEAH- Say what? It's a he?"**_

"_**Do you think I can sell this for anything?" Kakuzu held up the gift basket.**_

"_**I NEED SAKE!" Kisame chanted with Tsunade.**_

"_**Suck it up, you pansy, un!"**_

"_**Whatever. At least I'm not a freaking transvestite, you girl!"**_

"_**I'M NOT A TRANSVESTITE, YEAH!"**_

"_**Could've fooled me!"**_

"_**DO NOT THROW CHAIRS AT TOBI, PLEASE! TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!"**_

"_**DAMMIT, YOU HEATHENS! I'LL SACRIFICE YOU ALL TO JASHIN-SAMA! FIRST I'LL CUT YOU OPEN AND FLAY YOU AND-" Hidan muttered obscene threats, while gesturing wildly with his hands.**_

"_**I say we eat that blonde kid…" Zetsu's black half said, staring at Naruto.**_

"_**He might give us indigestion…" the white half suggested meekly.**_

"_**OMG! CAKE, UN!"**_

"_**Deidara, that's the wedding cake. You aren't allowed to eat it."**_

"_**You just want it all for yourself Sasori-danna."**_

"_**DID YOU HEAR THAT? THE TRANSVESTITE WANTS CAKE!"**_

"_**SHUT IT FISHY!"**_

"_**I'M NOT A FISH! I'M A FREAKING SHARK, DAMN YOU!"**_

_**Pein moaned. "Why did I agree to this?"**_

_**End Akatsuki Thought Sequence**_

Pein shuddered slightly. "Nothing you can say will persuade me to let them go to that wedding."

* * *

Hinata threw the bouquet up in the air, giggling slightly as she watched the girls try to get it.

After much pushing and shoving, Ino managed to make her way to the middle of the crowd, jump up, and catch it. "YES! This means I'm going to get married next!" she squealed.

"Look who you're marrying, Pig!" Sakura giggled, pointing to the left of the crowd.

Naruto had thrown Hinata's garter into the air, where it flew way to the left of the crowd of men.

'_Jeez, would've thought Naru-tard would have better aim, you know, him being a NINJA and all,'_ Sakura thought.

As it flew through the air, it landed right on the head of one sleeping Nara Shikamaru.

"Eh? What hit me?" he grumbled, waking up.

"NUUUUU! NO WAY I'M MARRYING DEER BOY!" Ino screeched.

"I feel the same way, Pig Girl," Shikamaru muttered.

"WHAT?"

"NO, INO-PIG, PUT DOWN THE KNIFE-"

(: Sorry, we seem to have lost connection with the network. Please stand by. Thank you for your patience! :)

* * *

**XxX**

**I wanted to end that on a slightly hilarious note, I feel bad for Deidara and all now… Yeah, Kisame's an idiot.**

**Pein and Naruto think alike, don't they?**

**Btw, I am NOT one of those crack heads who think Pein is Naruto's dad or whatever. It has been clinically proven that he is the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.**

**Don't forget to tell me your 'zomgwtf Sasuke' moments!**

**Uh, special thanks (The kind that comes with cake and ice cream) to StreetRacerSakura who has reviewed like almost every freaking chapter, and just plain old regular thanks (the kind that comes with cookies) to Deyanira-chan, (who also reviewed lots) ShayShay202, and Gaaraslvr77. (You get extra cookies, remember?)**

**Gaara won't allow me to give out any more than that. Sorry. He dislikes it when I steal his candy.**

**-Snow Tenshi**


	17. Epilogue

**OK PEOPLES! This is The Final Chapter (Triumphant music) of Bittersweet Memories.**

**Er, I'd like to thank all my reviewers, I didn't expect so many of you to like my story!**

**So, yes, erm, here's the credit for all the reviewers of chapter 16: Thank you ShayShay202, ShamaLamaDingDong, StreetRacerSakura, Deyanira-chan, xXxYumiixXx, and Gaaraslvr77!**

**You all rock. In a **_**huge**_** way. So, you all get… GAARA'S COOKIES!**

**(Gives away a giant cookie jar)**

**Hehe, I should hide before he kills me… Ja!**

**Sakura: Hey Sasuke-kun!**

**Sasuke: (smiles slightly) Hi Sakura.**

**Naruto: (Whispers) You know, I heard that every time Teme smiles, a puppy dies.**

**-Somewhere far, far away-**

**Kiba: NO! AKAMARU!!**

**Me: (Sweat-drops) Okay….**

**XxX**

* * *

Chapter 17: Epilogue

-Four Years Later-

A lone boy sat at the edge of a gravestone, his thin, elfin face empty of expression. He twisted a flower in his long fingers, before setting it down at the base of the statue. He sighed, leaning against the stone, and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind against his face.

"Hey," a soft voice was heard. He looked up to see a pink-haired girl making her way towards him. "That long, huh."

"Yeah, that long," the boy answered wearily, massaging his temples. "I can't believe it's been another year."

"Me neither." They sat there, side by side, leaning against each other slightly.

"It seems like it just happened yesterday…" the girl's voice quivered.

"I know… I wish I had known her longer…"

"We all wish," the girl spat out bitterly.

Again it was silent; as they sat there together, reveling in the quietness of the clearing. The peacefulness was broken when they heard shouts and screams from far away.

The girl smirked. "I guess your horde of fangirls caught up to us."

It was true, with his slender body and his features effeminate and slightly elfin, he attracted lots of girls. He wasn't one to talk much, giving him a cool and mysterious look. This annoyed him to no end because it seemed to make the girls want him even more. In fact, the more disinterested he appeared, the more they chased after him. Of course, he thought them all shallow, and when some of the more desperate ones tried pursuing him, he had sent them away in tears.

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."

The boy pulled her up, touched the gravestone once more, and disappeared.

The breeze from his disappearance whistled around her, and she smiled. He would have been long gone in the forest by now. Slowly, she traced the words engraved onto the stone before her, the same words engraved on a statue long gone, unwittingly destroyed miles away in the mountains.

_Yamanaka Hanako: April 16, 1995 – March 10, 2001_

_Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, but keep your eye on the present._

Her lips pulled upward for a second as she rested her eyes on the single daisy resting on the grave before following the boy, disappearing in a flurry of snow.

* * *

"It's almost time for our annual visit, un!"

"Wow, Deidara, you're really taking this whole 'uncle' thing seriously, aren't you?"

"O-Of course! I don't want… I don't want another Hana-chan," he finished miserably.

"I hear Hinata-chan has another kid! This calls for a celebration party!"

"Kisame-san, I hope you know that this time, you're paying for your own sake."

"…You're no fun."

"It's not Sasori-danna's fault that you're so stupid!"

"I heard the girl looks like her mother."

"It's a girl, yeah?" Deidara exclaimed with hearts in his eyes.

"…"

"Wow Deidara, I think you've reached a new level of gay."

"…I didn't think that was possible."

Deidara smacked him on the head. "Sasori-danna!"

"You know, you guys act like an old married couple?"

"…I dare you to say that one more time."

"You. Act. Like. An. Old. Married. _Couple_."

"KISAME!!"

That was the last anyone heard of Kisame for a couple of days when he was found taped up in a closet in an old shack in the mountains.

* * *

"Aniki!" a young girl shrieked in laughter as her brother swung her around in circles.

"Yes, Keiko-chan?" he grinned as he set her down, ruffling her dark blue hair.

"Hiro-kun!" Hinata admonished, her stern face ruined by the sight of Naruto laughing behind her. "She's only three, no playing rough!"

"Kaa-san!" he whined. "Well, fine. Come on Keiko-chan, let's blow this Popsicle stand," he stomped off, with his giggling sister in tow.

"So, Ten-chan, when are you and Nii-san gonna tie the knot?" Hinata giggled.

Two years ago, Ino and Shikamaru had finally married. Ino changed her name to Nara, but Sora kept the name Yamanaka as a memory to Hana. Neji, being the gentleman he was, was taking it slow with Tenten. Very, _very_ slow.

"I'm hinting at it! But he's soooo slow! The guy cannot take a hint!" Tenten whined.

"Who's slow?" Neji appeared suddenly. He raised his eyebrow. "Well?"

Tenten backed off, shaking her hands. "Naruto, of course!"

"Hey!"

"Hehehe…" she sighed. "You know, it must be _so nice_ to be married! Hinata-chan and Naruto-baka look really happy! Yeah, I bet marriage is _really nice_," she sighed again, staring pointedly at Neji.

He raised his brow again. "Yes, of course."

Tenten face-palmed.

"Was it something I said?"

* * *

Ino was with Shikamaru in Suna, visiting Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro.

"How is Hinata-chan?" Gaara asked in his monotone voice.

"Good. I'm proud to report that Keiko-chan looks almost exactly like her mother, but with her father's personality," Shikamaru grinned lazily.

Kankuro groaned. "Just what the world needs, another Naruto."

Temari grinned. "And what's this Ino-chan? Lazy-ass here is married to you now?"

Ino blushed. "Yeah."

Temari grinned. "He's a good kisser, isn't he? I remember from when I used to date him."

Ino smiled weakly at her, and Temari beamed back.

Shikamaru shook his head. Girls.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke were at Ichiraku, chatting with Ayame and Teuchi. (Well, Sakura was, at least)

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pouted. "Talk!"

But instead, he leaned forward and kissed her.

She slapped him.

"Sasuke-kun! I told you, you're on probation for eating all my candy!" she huffed. "You gotta work for it Mister! My kisses aren't cheap!"

Sasuke groaned. "Fine…" he got up and bowed mockingly. "Oh Sakura-hime, thank you for gracing this lowly piece of shit with your honorable presence," he said sarcastically.

She beamed and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun!"

"You missed," he deadpanned, pointing at his lips.

She chuckled. "Oh Sasuke-kun, so naïve. You never said where I had to kiss you!"

* * *

"Sora-kun, can you train with me?" Sachi asked softly. They were sitting in a clearing surrounded by trees, making it hard to find except for if you knew exactly where it was. The sunlight filtered through the trees, making a pretty rainbow reflection on the lake to the side of the clearing, the very same lake Naruto had proposed to Hinata by.

"Sure, Sa-chan," he grinned wolfishly as he used his special nickname for her. Then, he got up and dusted himself off, before crouching in a battle stance.

Sachi smirked, before leaning down into a similar stance. "I learned this one from Kira-chan."

She darted forward, using her pointer and middle finger to press various points on Sora's body. Before she managed to hit him enough to knock him out, he darted upwards and she found herself hitting a log.

"I'll find you!" she cooed, using her sharingan to help her look. Her eyes caught the miniscule movement of a branch swaying, and she dodged the snakes that burst out of that very spot. "You'll have to do better than that!"

She loved training with him, because it was the only time he allowed his emotions to show, and it gave a hint of what lies beneath his expressionless mask.

He burst out of the trees, and she shot fireballs at him. He dodged them one by one, before activating the curse seal he had received so long ago.

His fingernails grew long and sharp, as well as his teeth. Large, leathery wings burst from his back, and he hesitated for a moment as his body got used to the pain. And then the final change came over, his skin turned a dark grey color, his eyes now gleamed red and predatory. He grinned, showing off his fangs, and then he threw himself at Sachi.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" she screamed in desperation. But he dodged the ball of fire, only to be hit by her fist. He grunted as her strength sent him through a couple of trees, before shaking his head and launching himself at her, tackling her to the ground.

"I win again," he whispered near her ear, wincing momentarily as the wings receded into his back. He rolled off her, and put his hands behind his head, lying down on the soft grass. "Told you I'm stronger," he said, smirking.

She aimed a punch at his head, which he dodged, laughing. "Baka! You know you're not supposed to use the curse seal!"

He shrugged. "It was only for a little while. Won't do any harm."

The clearing descended into silence again.

"Is it hard?" she murmured. "Being a Jounin, I mean."

"Sometimes. I mean, me, Ichiro, and Katsuro are the youngest there are. It's kind of weird, working with someone so much older than you. I mean, once me and Ichiro were put on a team with Kakashi-san! He's like, ancient!"

At ten years old, Ichiro, Katsuro, and Sora were Jounin, Akira was a special Jounin, and Hiro, Daisuke, and Sachi were Chuunin.

Sachi giggled. "I don't think he's _that_ old!"

Sora nodded. "Point. You know, I heard Naruto's gonna promote Hiro and Daisuke soon. Maybe you too," he grinned at her. "It must be great, having the 6th as your dad. Hiro's got it _made_."

She pushed at his shoulder. "I don't wanna be promoted. I'm happy where I am. I'm thinking of becoming a sensei in the academy when I grow up, or maybe even get my own genin team. Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei make it look fun."

He mumbled something along the lines of 'That old pervert.'

"Maybe I could get Keiko-chan on my team! If I became a sensei at nineteen, she would be twelve! It would be perfect!"

"I don't think you can become a sensei that young, Sa-chan."

She wilted slightly. "I guess you're right."

"Don't worry though," he propped his head up with one arm, "you have forever to become a sensei. You'll make a great teacher."

"Yeah," she smiled slightly. "Forever sounds… nice."

* * *

**XxX**

**Yes, I know, pitiful excuse for an ending. Sue me.**

**Please tell me how you liked the story in REVIEW FORM! (Cheers)**

**I'll rewrite this chapter later… if you have ideas to make it better, feel free to tell.**

**Right, and here's the credit for the people who put the story on favorites: Bala2695, Deerdryad, Deyanira-chan, Funky Chicken Inc., Hana Natsumi Hime, Pekklexgrl, ShayShay202, XxFlyleaf.FanxX chikkachoo, kyokyo123, lil'kit CC, vash3055, wrong time for dreaming, and xXxYumiixXx.**

**(And yes, I am aware that even though some of you put the story on your favorites list, you didn't review. I know who reviewed and who didn't! –Glares lightly-)**

**And here are the people that reviewed the story, period.**

**Thanks to Hana Natsumi Hime, (for being my first reviewer) bobbinbird, vash3055, Deyanira-chan, chikkachoo, StreetRacerSakura, .WaterElement.., sweetdreamkisses30, Deerdryad, cherrysakura12345, ShamaLamaDingDong, XxFlyleaf.FanxX, BluePetalDemon, Gaaraslvr77, xXxYumiixXx, and ShayShay202.**

**I love you guys! Thanks for all the positive comments!**

**Till next time, SnowWhiteAngel**


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